An account in Allier, France

Recent testimony (2014) of an old observation (summer 1998 - the date of the day is not given: we arbitrarily date it to the 1st). In July or August 1998, a young boy, playing with another child on a property located in the middle of the countryside near CHATEL-MONTAGNE (Allier). Their attention is drawn to an object of elongated shape, grey in colour, with portholes (number undetermined) letting through a white interior light. The object appears to the right of the chalet in front of them and passes from their right to their left in the clear sky. The main witness describes the object as a "cylinder" which he estimates to be about 50 m long, with a "hard" appearance and a dark "copper" colour (Pantone no. ON. 00.36 or ON.00.45). The object, which moves silently, seems to graze the treetops nearby, then disappears a little further on, behind the trees of a hill. The observation lasted between 30 seconds and one minute. The children run to alert the adults, who are dining outside with their backs turned to the phenomenon and its trajectory. No adult was able to confirm their observation. Only one testimony is collected. The strangeness experienced by the witness resulted from a "cylindrical object with portholes letting through white lights". This is a recent testimony (2014) of an old observation (1998). The witness was 12 years old at the time. He is not able today to determine the exact date of the day and month of the observation (he indicates the month of August on the questionnaire but will indicate the month of July as possible to the investigator). Under these conditions, despite a meeting with the witness, the scope of the investigation remains very limited. The hypothesis of a solar balloon (Piff gadget type) is possible due to the shape, the silent movement, and it accounts for most of the strangeness. But it is impossible to verify the consistency of the direction of movement with the wind. (see the investigation report). In conclusion, the case admits a possible explanation, which, given the lack of information, can be neither ruled out nor confirmed. Consequently, GEIPAN classifies it as C: lack of reliable information.