An account in Bouches-du-Rh�ne, France

On Sunday, December 2, 2018 at around 7:05 PM, a motorist is intrigued by the presence in the overcast sky of two bright red points of light due South. Upon arriving at his destination, the witness notes that the points are still visible: he then takes two photos and a video with a smartphone. He then sees the two objects gain altitude while following the same line of travel and disappear into the clouds. No noise is heard during the observation. Only one testimony is collected. The witness probably observed Thai lanterns. The observation is indeed compatible: - in appearance: two luminous points of red or orange hue, as described and rendered by the video. - in trajectory: the two points follow each other, which is typical of lanterns following the same wind flow. The observation of the movement is very imprecise; one can understand that there is a movement toward the West (the second UAP, initially further East, comes to join the first) and toward the North (since there is an increase in elevation for the observer looking South), but the magnitudes of these movements are unknown. There is also a great unknown regarding the direction of the wind carrying the lanterns; the wind direction measured at ground level varies completely depending on the nearby weather stations (Istres, Cap-Couronne, Marignane, etc.) and the times around 7 PM. Under these conditions, the compatibility of the observation with the wind cannot be assessed: - in duration and mode of disappearance: the observation duration (10 minutes) is compatible with a flight duration of lanterns, and their disappearance is probably caused by the extinguishing of the burners, which can be gradual and which, for a witness, can be wrongly interpreted as the UAPs entering the clouds, whereas these are generally located higher than the maximum flight altitude of the lanterns. It is a weekend evening, which is conducive to festive events of this type. Consequently, GEIPAN classifies the case as B: probable observation of Thai lanterns.