Sighting in Beaumettes, December 31, 1977

On the evening of 31 December 1977, shortly after 7 p.m., several people noticed an orange glow in the sky that puzzled them. The matter was reported in the press. Someone who had heard about it from neighbours then went to the gendarmerie to give a statement. This person said they had set off a fireworks display themselves that evening, between 7 and 7:30 p.m., to celebrate the end of the year. It consisted of two flares and four Chinese rockets.

Another statement was collected, concerning a sighting made the same day at around 5 p.m. A motorist had seen a motionless object in the sky and had quickly lost sight of it. This account remained very brief, and no other witness provided any further information about that phenomenon.

The GEIPAN classified the case as A: the lights observed after 7 p.m. were those of this fireworks display.