Sighting in Le Barcarès, September 5, 2017

At 9:13 p.m., a witness who was night fishing on the beach saw a very bright orange ball of light move in a straight line and in silence across the sky, then quickly vanish into the clouds. Only this one witness came forward, so a single account was collected. The witness later obtained two photos from a tourist.

The investigation concluded that the witness most likely saw a Thai lantern. The shape fits, as does the glow, which can be uneven, and so does the apparent size, which is never very large. The witness described the object as "fainter than the Moon" and put its size at 3 cm at arm's length, but that measurement was mistaken, as it cannot be correct. The wind recorded in Perpignan that evening blew exactly along the path the witness had faithfully reconstructed. Finally, early September in a holiday resort is a likely time and place for festive events such as lantern releases. GEIPAN therefore classified the case as B (probably identified): a Thai lantern.