Ploërmel 1985, ovoid light attributed to searchlights

Summary

In July 1985 a witness in Ploërmel observed for several hours an ovoid luminous phenomenon with a rotating beam, silent and seemingly moving across the sky. Originally classified D (unexplained), GEIPAN re-examined the case and reclassified it B, attributing it to an optical illusion caused by searchlights reflected off a low cloud layer. Two hypotheses were considered: lights from a nightclub or a military event in the area. The military hypothesis seemed more plausible, though impossible to verify with certainty after more than three decades. Some discrepancies, such as a rectangular shape described at certain moments, did not invalidate the overall explanation.