Sighting in Tournai-sur-Dive (61), September 6, 1988

Starting on 6 September 1988, several people noticed an unfamiliar bright phenomenon in the sky and followed its movements. The longest observations took place in succession on 7 and 8 September, between 10 and 11 p.m. Four witnesses were involved and several photographs were taken. The phenomenon was described in detail, and the witnesses' sincerity and credibility have never been questioned.

The case, formerly known as TRUN (61) 06.09.1988, was among those SEPRA had classed as "D". A recent re-examination found that the duration of the sightings, along with the shape, size and colour described, matched the planet Mars. Mars lay in the direction the witnesses indicated and was particularly bright at the time. According to GEIPAN, the witnesses' eyesight was not the issue: the mistake came from how they interpreted what they saw, influenced by how they felt (tiredness, fear, driving at night). The case, of low strangeness, is classified A: an observation caused by mistaking the planet Mars for something else.