Sighting in Talmont-Saint-Hilaire, January 1, 2016

Shortly after midnight on New Year's Eve, a witness saw several flame-coloured lights moving across the sky. They travelled silently along a horizontal path at low altitude, heading north-north-east. The sighting lasted about five minutes. No other witness accounts were reported in the area.

GEIPAN concluded that the description closely matched Chinese lanterns, as they are also known: orange balls or discs crossing the sky within a few minutes on a festive night strongly suggest them, most likely released nearby at the end of a private party. The lights moved in groups of four or five lined up horizontally, which probably reflects releases made in quick succession, with longer gaps between each batch. The movement was seen towards the north-east, whereas the wind recorded 8 km away blew towards the north-west. However, from where they stood, the witness could hardly judge anything but the south-to-north component of the motion. The case was therefore classified B: probably Thai lanterns.