Sighting in Sauvigny, October 20, 2015

At about 8:10 p.m., a witness at home noticed three or four round, orange-red lights in the sky. They moved without a sound along a straight path from north to south. The sighting lasted around fifteen minutes, after which the lights passed out of the witness's view. The witness took several photographs. No one else came forward.

The investigation found that orange-red balls crossing the sky within a few minutes strongly suggested Thai lanterns, probably released nearby at the end of a private gathering. Their southward drift matched the north wind recorded that day at Nancy-Ochey, 22 km away. The photos are noticeably blurred, which is normal for handheld night shots, but they clearly show the yellow-orange colour the witness described, typical of Thai lanterns. The turn toward the east at the end of the sighting could be explained by a local wind following the valley of the Ruppes stream. Such a release is unusual on a weekday, but it was school holiday time.

GEIPAN first classified the case as B (probable lantern). The gendarmerie then confirmed that Thai lanterns had been released after a funeral, so the case was reclassified as A: the passage of Thai lanterns was certain.