Sighting in Villeneuve-Loubet, March 12, 2024

At about 1:43 p.m., a witness was in the open-plan office of a building on high ground, together with three colleagues. Through a closed window, they all saw an object shaped like an "O", silver in colour and highly reflective. It was at first motionless in the sky to the north. It then gradually gained height and drifted slowly to the northeast, disappearing from view after about three minutes.

Only one of the four observers reported the sighting to the GEIPAN, but they supplied a good-quality video that was used in the investigation. The case was therefore considered consistent, meaning it contained a good amount of reliable, objectively supported information.

The analysis concluded that the object was very probably a helium-filled balloon shaped like an "O" or a "0", with a silver Mylar envelope that reflects light strongly. Its behaviour (initial stillness, slow climb, then a straight path) matches that of a passive object carried by wind blowing in the same direction. The site is hilly, and small variations in air movement explain the initial stillness and then the balloon's slow drift as it spun on itself, clearly visible in the video. This kind of party balloon is commonly used for birthdays; it could have been released or lost from a house lower down, for example in the heights of Antibes or Vaugreniers. The GEIPAN classified the case as A: observation of a Mylar balloon carried by the wind.