Sighting in Pierrefort, August 21, 2022

At around 9:30 p.m., four witnesses were on the terrace of a country house when they noticed several white, oval-shaped lights. The objects moved in closely spaced pairs, steadily and repeatedly, along a straight, slightly rising path running from northwest to southeast. The sighting lasted about five minutes and was filmed. The witnesses heard no sound, and the lights simply went out on their own with nothing unusual happening. Only one of the witnesses sent an account to GEIPAN. Even so, the case has good consistency, thanks to the several witnesses and the video.

GEIPAN found that the description fits very well with a light show produced by skytracer projectors (also called skyroses), which are used by nightclubs and at festive events. The sky was covered with mid-level clouds, which acted as a screen for the projected light. No beams were visible between the ground and the clouds, which is explained by the 11 km distance and by excellent horizontal visibility, with few particles in the air. Such projectors can reach more than 10 km outdoors. The investigation established that a festival was taking place that evening in Paulhac, about ten kilometres away. The company running the closing dance confirmed it used "lyres", a type of skytracer able to throw powerful beams into the sky. They were reportedly switched on after the time of the sighting, but earlier testing is entirely possible. The case was classified A: observation of skytracers.