Sighting in Bourg-en-Bresse, March 18, 2014

At around 8:30 pm, under a clear sky, a couple out walking noticed four steady, pale orange lights that suggested a dark trapezoidal shape. They moved silently in a straight line at a constant speed. One of the two, the witness, looked away for a moment, and when they looked back the object was gone. Only one account was collected. The witness saw the object heading east or northeast.

GEIPAN considered that orange lights drifting silently and horizontally in the same direction as the wind strongly suggest Thai lanterns, probably released at the end of a celebration. The dark shape is explained by the Gestalt effect, which commonly occurs when several lights move together. The wind recorded at Lyon-Satolas, light and from the southwest, is consistent with the direction observed. The case was classified B: probable sighting of Thai lanterns. GEIPAN did not try to trace whoever released them.