Sighting in Paris, September 19, 2010

At 7:45 in the evening, from home, the witness noticed a round, black flying object in the sky moving silently from west to east. They took photographs of it. No other witness account was collected.

The investigation found that the photos strongly resemble a helium party balloon with ribbons, or with a somewhat more complex shape. Such balloons are often made of reflective materials like Mylar; it looks dark here because the pictures were taken against the light, toward the west-southwest, as the Sun was setting. The object's slow, straight path is consistent with the recorded wind. A balloon like this most likely came from one of the many sales points scattered around Paris's tourist areas.

The case showed low strangeness and medium consistency. GEIPAN concluded that it was very probably a misidentification of a helium party balloon that had escaped its owner's control, and classed it B (probably identified).