Unspecified over Matha, Poitou-Charentes · France
A conventional explanation is favored by the record but was never formally confirmed.
The report, as filed
Le 24 mai 1976 deux témoins observent dans le ciel les aller-retours d'un objet brillant de forme allongée ne laissant aucune trace dans le ciel. Aucun bruit ne sera entendu durant l'observation qui durera deux ou trois minutes. Ces témoins ont probablement observé les évolutions d'un aéronef en exercice mais le témoignage reste très imprécis. [GEIPAN classification B — Phénomène identifié non indiqué]
Held as-reported from GEIPAN, Centre national d'études spatiales (record GEIPAN 1976-05-00303). Witness text is preserved verbatim, including its spelling; nothing is edited beyond formatting.
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France's official UAP office publishes its case base proactively — check its open catalog before filing. Through Aletheca, the house instrument, anyone can commission the request — filed, chased, and published in the open, refusals included. The draft goes over already written: the records sought, and the date window they would live in.
Routed to: GEIPAN / CNES (France) · records window 1976-05-21 → 1976-06-07