Sighting in Andernos-les-Bains, June 23, 2018

The main witness was on their terrace around 11:15–11:30 pm, photographing the Moon and Jupiter with a telescope. Their spouse, also present, called them over after seeing two red objects pass from east to west on the other side of the house. The witness arrived too late to see them. Two to three minutes later, the spouse called again, and this time the witness was able to watch the phenomenon: three objects, identical to one another and to the first two, bright red and very luminous, coming from the east and heading south or south-west. They moved fairly slowly at low altitude, did not blink, and made no noise the witness could detect. After about 15 seconds, they disappeared behind trees and houses.

Only one of the two witnesses sent an account to the GEIPAN, and no photo or video was taken, so the case's consistency was rated as medium. The investigation concluded that the witnesses very probably saw several sky lanterns carried by the wind. Red is possible, although orange is the most common colour for these lanterns, and the number of objects and their slow horizontal drift in the direction of the wind support this. The sighting took place on a Saturday evening in June, with a light wind, conditions well suited to such releases, and festivities were being held in the town that night. No trace of a lantern launch was found, but it could have been a private one. The case was classified B.