Sighting in Jonquières, April 28, 2013

Around midnight, on a Saturday night during the Easter holidays and just before the May 1st long weekend, a driver and a passenger were traveling on a motorway when the passenger noticed a light. The driver pulled into the next rest area, 500 to 800 meters further on. Both witnesses stayed in the vehicle and watched the phenomenon for about an hour, above the trees, at an elevation the witness put at 30°. Since it did not go away, they eventually drove on. Only one questionnaire was collected.

The phenomenon was a single, pale whitish glow with no geometric shape, silent and leaving no trail. It always followed the same winding path at treetop level, "like a bird flying". From the rest area, it passed alternately behind two trees about twenty meters apart. Its size was hard to judge. On the motorway the witnesses felt it was very close; when they set off again, the passenger said "it's following us". The sky was fully overcast (8/8), with no precipitation and a westerly wind of about 10 km/h.

The witness themself suggested a light beam projected onto the cloud base. Photos they provided made it possible to estimate the viewing direction from the rest area. The Château de Jonquières lies in that sector, about 700 m away, while other possible sources were ruled out because they were outside it. From the motorway, 800 m before the rest area, the château is visible at 1.35 km, 45° to the right. At 700 m and 30° elevation, the resulting height of about 400 m matches the cloud ceiling. Distance explains the faint light, the non-geometric shape and the impression of being followed, since the bearing changed little despite the vehicle's movement. The owner could not be reached for confirmation. GEIPAN classified the case as A: a light display.