Sighting in Châteauneuf-les-Martigues, February 13, 1997

A witness saw an amber-colored streak of light in the sky, moving slowly at first. It then began to move very fast in a zigzag pattern. A second streak of light appeared and joined the first, and the two moved together before disappearing toward the south. The witness said the whole display lasted between 30 and 40 seconds. Only one account was collected.

GEIPAN re-examined this case, originally classified D, and considers it probably a skytracer, a searchlight-type projector. The shape described matches a partial beam made visible by precipitation just below the cloud base, which explains why the witness spoke of seeing it against the sky. The amber color probably corresponds to a pale yellow, commonly used with these devices, and the movement in all directions fits festive use. Such projectors already existed in 1997 and can produce this effect from several tens of kilometers away. They could have been in a local amusement park of the time, or farther away in the Marseille area (a nightclub, a commercial event, a funfair). The area searched by the gendarmerie had been too limited.

The duration, too short for an entertainment display, and the date, a weeknight, remain points of uncertainty. The hypothesis still holds if it was a brief test run before a weekend event. The alternative of handheld lasers was ruled out: the amber light, the low brightness and the range, judged insufficient to reach clouds or condensation zones, do not fit. GEIPAN therefore classified the case as B: probable skytracer observation.