Luminous phenomena and military exercises near Belfort

Summary

On the night of May 4, 1981, between 8:00 and 11:00 PM, multiple witnesses — including military personnel — observed orange lights in the sky over Belfort heading toward the Swiss border. The reports generated some alarm among authorities. The investigation quickly solved the mystery: military exercises were underway near the border that night, and the phenomena corresponded to illumination flares used during the maneuvers. GEIPAN classified the case as A, fully explained.