An account in Nord, France

On January 1, 2016 at 12:15 AM, a motorist and his female passenger observe the slow passage from south to north at low altitude of a diamond-shaped object, yellow-orange in color, moving without noise, soon followed by two others. Fireworks are taking place at the same time. No other testimony has been collected. The observation of orange balls or discs in the sky, on a weekend or festive night like New Year's Eve (the witness also mentions fireworks) clearly suggests Thai lanterns, probably released nearby at the end of a private party. The wind (Armentières station, 3 km away) at that hour is weak but with a strong south-to-north component consistent with the passage of the UAPs transversely to the road being traveled. Then the witness reports a turn of the UAPs to follow the road; the impression of following the road does not exclude the continuation of a trajectory with a strong transverse component to the road, especially since the witness also reports that the UAP was advancing slowly (in the direction of the road) and that all this is observed while driving. Finally, the wind readings indicate great instability in directions. Consequently, GEIPAN classifies the case as B: probable observation of Thai lanterns.