Sighting in Villefort, July 2, 2015

At about 10:30 p.m., several people saw an orange-colored ball of light drift slowly and silently from north to south, then vanish behind the clouds. The GEIPAN received only one witness account.

The ball floated gently across the sky on a path that looked random. That suggests a burning object carried by the wind, such as a Thai lantern. The available wind data were not very helpful: Infoclimat reported a light westerly wind at Mas-de-la-Barque, 5 km away, and Météociel a weak, unstable wind at Mende, 35 km away. Because the sighting took place on the floor of a fairly narrow valley, and low-altitude winds in mountain areas are very complex, the actual wind at the site could not be determined.

The Thai lantern explanation therefore remains consistent with the account but could not be confirmed. The GEIPAN also considered a plasma-type phenomenon, but there was no stormy weather and no seismic activity. Because of the lack of corroboration and information, the case was classified C.