Sighting in Saint-Marcel (01) 11.03.1979 « les Poissons », March 11, 1979

Shortly before one in the morning, several people were dazzled by a very bright blue-green-purple light that lit up the surrounding landscape for about a minute. A power cut affected the whole commune. A motorist who was with their spouse described a slightly oval, motionless mass some 15 to 20 metres above the ground. It suddenly went out, revealing a red-orange light on each side.

A fish farmer, woken that night by crackling sounds and an intense light, found two days later that many fish had died in one of the rearing ponds, 1,800 kg in all. A 10,000-volt power line ran above the pond. During the night of 14 to 15 March, one of its wires gave way; it was damaged over a length of four to five metres.

The local EDF manager could not find the incident on the control recording, because the power cut, about a minute long, was too brief. According to the investigation, the witnesses saw an electric arc on the EDF line, which probably contributed to the death of the fish, even though analyses revealed a viral infection. The exact nature of that infection, and any role it may have played in the mortality, remain unknown. The case is classified A (identified).