Sighting in Montélimar, July 9, 2010

At around 10:00 pm, two witnesses saw a bright, white, oval-shaped ball in the sky. It moved fast in a straight line from south to north, and no sound was heard. The object then disappeared toward the north. One of the witnesses took a photograph and planned to contact the local press.

Several explanations were considered. A fireball would have travelled much faster and left a trail. The International Space Station was over France that evening, but it was not moving in that direction, and it looks like a very bright point rather than a plate-like shape. A metallic party balloon drifting in a 10 to 20 km/h wind could still have been lit by the sun at altitude, since the sun had set at 9:20 pm. However, its apparent speed would have been lower, unless much stronger winds were blowing at height.

Because the question could not be settled, GEIPAN classified the case as C, insufficient data. It judged the case moderately strange, with average consistency.