Sighting in Piriac-sur-Mer, July 19, 2009

At around 10:40 p.m., several people noticed a bright, orange-red shape in the sky. It made no sound. The object stayed in place despite some slight oscillations that could be seen. The observation lasted about fifteen minutes, after which clouds hid the object. Only one account of the event reached GEIPAN.

Two explanations were put forward: a tethered balloon, either lit from within or lit by ground-based spotlights (an advertising or festive balloon), or a high-altitude weather balloon still lit by the sun an hour after sunset. Neither could be checked, since the investigation took place three years after the event. The case is only slightly strange because the phenomenon remained stationary, and the single account, although precise, does not make it possible to assess how consistent the phenomenon was. The balloon explanations remain plausible, but because there were no independent witnesses and no cross-checking, GEIPAN classified the case as C (insufficient data).