Descending fire drop during a storm in Wissous (1960)

Summary

At some point in 1960, two people in Wissous witnessed a strange white "fire drop" descending vertically from a storm. The object, elongated upward, remained visible for one to three seconds before vanishing behind trees. It produced no sound and left no trace of fire. An atmospheric phenomena expert concluded it was likely ball lightning — a rare but documented occurrence before dry storms, in which luminous spheres fall slowly from clouds and can trigger an isolated lightning strike upon reaching the ground or a structure. The case was classified as a probable ball-lightning observation.