Sighting in Saint-Laurs, June 12, 2013

At around 8:40 a.m., a witness was on their terrace with their child when both heard a series of detonations. Looking up, they saw a dark, oval object in the sky whose rear section turned bright with each detonation. The object flew in a straight line over the village, then passed out of sight behind a farm building. No photos or video exist, and only one account was collected.

The sky was overcast with a generally low cloud ceiling, a light wind blowing mostly from the south, and average visibility.

GEIPAN judged the testimony to be weak: it lacked precision and detail, as well as key data needed to continue the study. The sighting might have been strange, but its gaps and vagueness made it impossible to judge that properly. The gendarmes had suggested a helicopter. That hypothesis was examined, but given what the remote investigation turned up and the lack of angular information on the object's size, no explanation could be clearly confirmed. GEIPAN did not handle the case quickly enough to check air traffic in time. The case is classed C because of insufficient information and corroboration.