GEIPAN Case 2020-06-51034 — AUNAY-LES-BOIS (61) 03.06.2020

Brief

Three adults gathered in a rural garden at Aunay-les-Bois (Orne, Normandy) observed a silent UAP at approximately 00:30 on 3 June 2020. The phenomenon presented as two bright blue-white light sources with a luminous halo beneath, traversing roughly a quarter-sky arc at a constant ~15 degrees elevation from SSE (150 degrees azimuth) to east in an estimated 5-10 seconds. No instruments were used and no photographic record was obtained; all three witnesses reported being unable to move or reach for their phones during the event. The case received GEIPAN Classification D, the French system's highest unexplained designation, meaning it remained unidentified after full investigation.

Metadata

Agency

GEIPAN / CNES

Release

2007-03-22

Type

PDF • .pdf

Length

15 pages

Classification

UNCLASSIFIED

Programs

GEIPAN

Tags

nocturnal lights, blue-white, silent, halo, rectilinear trajectory, France, Normandy, 2020, GEIPAN D-class, multiple witnesses, behavioral freeze

Key points

• Three adult witnesses observed the phenomenon from a rural garden at Aunay-les-Bois (Orne, 61500) on 3 June 2020, beginning around 00:00-00:30 local time.p.3
• The UAP appeared as two blue-white light sources with a luminous halo beneath; the primary witness initially perceived one point of light that resolved into two, understood to form a single coherent object.p.2
• The phenomenon was completely silent; the rural environment was described as extremely quiet, with animal sounds audible in the minutes immediately preceding the sighting.p.5
• Angular separation of the two primary lights measured approximately 30 mm on a ruler held at arm's length — a concrete quantified data point submitted to investigators.p.6
• Trajectory: initial azimuth 150 degrees (SSE), final azimuth east; elevation constant at approximately 15 degrees above the horizon — rectilinear, parallel to the horizon throughout.p.7
• Observation was discontinuous because the lights passed intermittently behind a tree line bordering a road; total perceived duration estimated at 5-10 seconds.p.4
• All three witnesses reported being unable to move or use their phones during the event, describing the state as hypnotic — a reaction the primary witness explicitly flagged as anomalous to his own normal reflexes.p.2
• Post-observation, each witness independently drew the phenomenon before comparing sketches; four drawings and one environmental photograph were submitted with the questionnaire.p.15
• Extended post-event internet and astronomy-site searches by the witnesses produced no matching object or phenomenon.p.11
• The questionnaire was signed and submitted from Versailles on 18 October 2020, approximately four months after the incident.p.15

Verbatim

• Nous n'avons pas bougé, aucun de nous n'a pu sortir son téléphone pour filmer, nous étions comme hypnotisés.

  p.2

• J'ai n'ai départ vu qu'un seul point bleu, puis une deuxième est entré dans mon champ de vision. J'ai ensuite compris qu'il s'agissait d'un même ensemble.

  p.2

• Aucun bruits d'appareils, nous avions même entendu le cri d'un animal quelques minutes avant ainsi quelques vaches. C'était extrêmement silencieux.

  p.5

• Très irradiant. (halo autour des lumières), plus lumineux que des phares de voiture et surtout couleur blanc bleue inhabituelle.

  p.6

• Nous avons dessiné chacun ce que nous avons vu (cf.PJ) et avons comparé. Nous avons passé du temps à chercher des images de bolides sur votre site et ailleurs pour comparaison mais rien ne ressemble à l'objet que nous avons vu.

  p.11

• Nous sommes aussi surpris de n'avoir pas pu réagir pendant l'observation et de n'avoir pas pris de photo ou vidéo, alors que c'est un réflexe que nous avons assez naturellement.

  p.11

• Nous espérons avoir des réponses sur ce phénomène. Nous sommes en attentes d'explications rationnelles ou non.

  p.11

Most interesting

• The primary witness's first instinct was to shout 'Oh une comete!' — the group had discussed a comet sighting by the same friends earlier that same evening, making the initial misidentification psychologically plausible before it was immediately self-corrected.
• One co-witness was described as 'terrorisee' (terrified) while another was 'plutot excitee' (rather excited) — sharply divergent emotional responses from people observing the same event simultaneously from the same location.
• The ~30 mm ruler-at-arm's-length angular measure equates to roughly 3 degrees of arc, placing the two light sources in a configuration consistent with a large or relatively close object — and giving GEIPAN an actual number to work with rather than a vague size impression.
• The witnesses drew their sketches independently before comparing them, an informally rigorous practice that guards against cross-contamination of visual memory between observers.
• Despite all three witnesses describing phone photography as a natural reflex, none of them was able to act during the observation — a behavioral freeze that the primary witness singled out as one of the more puzzling aspects of the encounter.
• The questionnaire was filed roughly four months after the incident, suggesting sustained motivation to seek a formal explanation rather than a reactive impulse filing made in the immediate aftermath.
• GEIPAN Classification D is the highest unexplained grade in France's official UAP taxonomy, reserved for cases that remain unidentified after a completed investigation — not merely cases that are under-documented or unresolved for procedural reasons.