Sighting in Orléans, October 19, 2014

At around 8:30 pm, a witness and their brother-in-law watched a dark, triangular shape pass silently over a garden, with a red light at each corner. The three points of light first moved in a line, then formed a dark triangle. The sky was clear. The two observers then left the spot. Only one account was collected, and there was no photograph.

The investigation noted several points: the phenomenon may not have been a single solid object but three independent ones; the path was straight, like that of objects carried by a steady wind; the red colour resembled that of lanterns; no noise was heard; the duration matched the lifespan of a lantern; and the date, a weekend, was a likely time for lantern releases at celebrations or weddings. Confusion with a group of three Thai lanterns was therefore possible. However, data on the direction of travel were missing. The account was imprecise and of low consistency, and the observation was not very strange, since the objects looked and behaved in ordinary ways. GEIPAN classified the case as C because of insufficient information and a lack of corroboration.