Sighting in Canet-en-Roussillon, August 11, 2009

Two witnesses saw a white point of light with a greenish outline above the sea. The sighting lasted about thirty-five minutes, from 4:45 to 5:20 in the morning. The object moved around at varying speeds, then left at great speed toward the open sea. The witnesses heard no sound, either during its maneuvers or when it departed. They noticed that two pleasure boats were close to where the phenomenon was moving about.

The investigation established that the sighting took place during a nighttime advertising campaign run between Canet and Argelès, on the night of 10 to 11 August, by an agency for a television channel. The campaign's theme, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", and the special effects used match what the two witnesses saw. The very early hour of the sighting coincides with the end of the display, which had started the previous evening in the neighboring town of Argelès. GEIPAN considered the case fully explained and classified it A: a light display produced for an advertising campaign.