Luminous balls over Paris on the early morning of May 17, 2015

Summary

On the early morning of May 17, 2015, a witness in Paris observed between 5 and 6 colorful glowing spheres silently moving across a clear sky. These lights appeared to outline a dark object, described by the witness as "gray and metallic," equipped with those luminous spheres. Although the testimony suggests the presence of an object, GEIPAN researchers consider it could be an optical illusion. The description of the lights moving in a straight line during a weekend night makes one think of typical Thai lanterns, often launched during private celebrations. The sudden disappearance of the lights could be due to them extinguishing or hiding behind a building. Given the brevity of the sighting and the lack of details on the direction of movement, it is not possible to verify if the movement was consistent with the wind. Moreover, drones are ruled out as an explanation, since their night navigation in urban areas is complex and their trajectories are usually irregular. Finally, GEIPAN classified this case as "C" due to the lack of precise information and no other testimonies supporting the phenomenon.