Red trail over Portiragnes

Summary

On 25 January 2009, a motorist driving through Portiragnes (Hérault) saw a red object with a long tail lighting up the sky. No sound was heard. Curious, the witness drove to the beach, where other people appeared to have seen the object fall toward the sea, though no additional testimony was collected. GEIPAN classified the case as B, most likely attributing it to the atmospheric entry of a natural body such as a meteorite. The absence of noise and the luminous trail fit that kind of event, but the lack of corroboration prevented a definitive conclusion.