An account in Moselle, France

On Sunday, April 29, 2012, at around 4:15 p.m., a witness observed the passage of a gray spherical shape below the clouds. The intrigued witness filmed the object, which moved in a straight-line trajectory. A plume of white smoke or flames was seen by the witness beneath the object. It disappeared, hidden by the neighboring building. The nearly linear movement of the object, consistent with the wind direction (S to SW), which was strong that day, clearly suggests a balloon. Because it was seen against the light, it appeared dark. It may not have been spherical, and as a result, while turning, it sometimes reflected sunlight, causing temporary flashes. The relative sharpness of the object suggests it was relatively close (less than 1 km) and therefore modest in size (less than one meter). The small swirling white dots could be pollen, common at that time of year during those first mild spring days, very bright if seen against the light. No other testimony was collected on this phenomenon. GEIPAN classifies this case "B": probable observation of a festive balloon, likely released from Ars sur Moselle or further south.