Sighting in Nérac, July 20, 2015

At about 10:57 p.m., a family saw a bright red object cross the night sky in a straight line and in complete silence. It then disappeared behind a building. Only one account was collected. A video had been filmed on a mobile phone, but it could not be sent in.

The witness's description of where the path ended was contradictory, although they did not seem familiar with the area. The object came from the north-east. The witness mentioned that it headed toward the town centre, moved from left to right across the horizon visible from the balcony, and vanished behind an annex building on the right. This indicates that it was heading south-west rather than south-east.

At 11 p.m., the Agen-La-Garenne weather station, 20 km away, recorded a light northerly wind (6 km/h) and 45 km visibility. A south-westward path is consistent with that wind. The strong brightness, red colour, drift with the wind, straight and steady path and lack of noise all match a Thai lantern. The summer season and the holiday village setting strengthen this explanation, since lanterns are often released in summer and on New Year's Eve, and a single lantern is a common sight. GEIPAN therefore classified the case as B: probably a Thai lantern.