LED balloons mistaken for a luminous flame in Noisy-le-Sec

Summary

At 1:35 a.m. on 7 November 2016, a witness observed from their bedroom a luminous phenomenon with an unusual shape: a round yellow base resembling a flame, topped by a translucent triangle in blue, red and green. The object rose slightly, tracing small zigzags eastward. GEIPAN concluded it was most likely a cluster of helium-filled LED balloons. When combined with steady and flickering lights, such balloons can mimic organic shapes like a flame. The zigzag movement and direction matched the west-to-east wind recorded that night, and the gradual dimming was consistent with LED battery depletion. Since it fell on a weekend, the balloons plausibly came from a celebration.