Sighting in Piriac-sur-Mer, July 14, 2009

At around 11:10 p.m., a witness was on the beach under a clear sky. They saw a very bright red-orange light cross the sky from west to east without making a sound. It moved slowly and vanished at the horizon after about ten minutes of observation.

The GEIPAN investigation noted that the red-orange color, the slow speed and the straight path all fit a festive airborne lantern, known as a "Thai" lantern. The direction of travel also lined up with the wind that evening. When contacted to pin down the exact spot of the sighting, the witness explained that they had later realized the object was a kind of Chinese lantern, which could not be recognized in the dark. Given this confirmation, the case was classified A (identified): it was a Thai lantern, a common sight on July 14.