Sighting in Toulon, February 1, 1981

A night guard reported to the gendarmerie an observation made at 2:40 a.m. while on duty. Over the sea, the witness saw three large, dull, pinkish balls arranged in an isosceles triangle. They did not flash, and the witness heard no noise as they moved. No other testimony was collected.

The case was classed as unexplained in 1981. It was later re-examined using current tools and the investigative experience gained since. That review could not keep it in the unexplained category. The witness refused to provide a written, signed statement, whereas GEIPAN works from direct, signed testimony. The account also remains vague: there is no written description and no question-and-answer record, estimates of size, distance and speed are subjective, and neither the start and end positions nor the duration are known.

With so little to go on, balloons released by children and lit by the city lights cannot be ruled out, especially as it was a weekend night. The dull appearance of the objects fits lighting from the surroundings. The wind, light and from the north at 1 a.m., may have shifted slightly by 2:40 a.m. The left-to-right movement the witness described is consistent with balloons drifting. GEIPAN therefore classed the case as C, insufficient data.