Sighting in Cestas, November 15, 2019

One evening, after leaving work, a driver looked out of the vehicle window to the left and saw many lights in the sky. They pulled over onto the roadside and watched for about ten minutes, filled with wonder. The lights were powerful and dazzling, like Venus, and moved while forming a circle with a violet-mauve color at its center. They then scattered in a disorderly way. The witness took photos and went home. No other testimony was collected.

GEIPAN rated the case as having low strangeness and good consistency: there was only one witness, but the account was fairly complete and backed by photos. The description and the images show a stable geometric figure in the air, followed by a disorderly descent toward the ground. This strongly suggests a drone show, with the drones landing shortly before sunset. The investigation established that the observation site is used as a training ground by a company specializing in drone shows, and its color palette includes the violet the witness described. A drone training flight therefore fully explains the sighting, which was classified A: mistaken identification of drones.