Sighting in Matafelon-Granges, November 2, 2014

In the early evening, a witness saw an orange point of light moving silently across a clear sky. It first came toward them, then changed course and moved away while climbing. The witness also took a photograph, in which the object looks pink and blue, whereas they had seen it as orange.

Investigators considered a Thai lantern carried by the wind, given the colour and the slow movement. A path that was not straight fits this poorly, but does not rule it out: in a valley with very pronounced relief, the wind near the ground often differs from the wind higher up. This wind pattern is almost impossible to model. The available weather stations, Lyon, Mâcon and Geneva, are far from the site and reported different winds (strong southerly in Lyon, weaker in Mâcon, south-westerly in Geneva), so they cannot be used to estimate the wind at the location. As for the photo, taken at night with some camera shake, it mainly reflects the imperfections of the shot rather than the true appearance of the object.

Because of these uncertainties, the GEIPAN could not offer a justified explanation and classified the case as C, insufficient data.