Sighting in Mancieulles, June 17, 2012

Shortly after midnight, a couple watched a silent luminous phenomenon made up of red balls pass by, and filmed it. The balls, orange or red, moved erratically, carried by the local wind from the south-west toward the north-east. They had been released during the night from Saturday to Sunday.

GEIPAN considered the case typical of Thai lanterns. The video supports this, even though the objects look white in it: the camcorder was probably in automatic mode, and its white balance likely altered the colours. One of the witnesses, who had previously seen a lantern release, believed that such lanterns only rise vertically and did not accept this explanation. However, an article in Le Républicain Lorrain on 30 August 2012 reported that the person behind the release had come forward. The case was classified A: sighting of Thai lanterns.