Within Lot et Garonne UFOs
Why Casteljaloux Still Anchors the Local Mystery
Two D-class reports near Casteljaloux show how a case can remain puzzling without becoming strong proof.
On this page
- The 1978 Casteljaloux sighting
- The 2011 A62 motorway report
- Why unresolved does not mean proven
Page outline Jump by section
Introduction
Why these two cases stand out in Lot-et-Garonne
Lot-et-Garonne is not one of France’s great UFO folklore centres. A 2012 local press review, drawing on GEIPAN’s public records, described only about ten official sightings in the department across roughly four decades, and noted that many had either been identified or weakened by poor data. In that sparse local file, the two D-class reports — Casteljaloux in 1978 and the A62 in 2011 — stand out because they remained unexplained after GEIPAN assessment.[ladepeche.fr]ladepeche.frAgen. Ces objets volants plus ou moins identifiésAgen. Ces objets volants plus ou moins identifiés
GEIPAN’s role is important here. CNES describes GEIPAN as the French UAP body created in 1977 to collect, analyse and archive eyewitness accounts, working with partners including the gendarmerie, police, the Air and Space Force, CNRS and Météo-France. Its own national figures put category D cases in a small minority: 3.3% of phenomena are listed as unidentified after investigation, while much larger shares are identified, probably identified, or not identifiable because the data are insufficient.[CNES]cnes.frGEIPAN | CNESGEIPAN | CNES
A D classification therefore means “still unexplained”, not “confirmed alien vehicle”. GEIPAN says its classification process considers both residual strangeness, after comparison with known explanations, and consistency, meaning the quantity and reliability of the collected data. Its category D is for a phenomenon not identified after investigation, while category C is for a phenomenon not identified because of missing or insufficient data.[GEIPAN]cnes-geipan.frGEIPANIts history | GEIPANGEIPANIts history | GEIPAN
That distinction is crucial for Casteljaloux and the A62. They are not merely discarded as unusable reports, but they are also not independently verified events in the stronger sense that a reader might expect from aviation, radar or multi-witness cases. They sit in the uneasy middle: coherent enough to be interesting, too thinly evidenced to carry heavy claims.
The 1978 Casteljaloux sighting
The Casteljaloux case took place on 23 October 1978, in the evening, in Lot-et-Garonne. GEIPAN’s case page records the observation date, the department, the D classification and a phenomenon type described as strange to very strange, with medium to strong consistency. Its summary is simple: observation of the movement of a disc-shaped object.[GEIPAN]cnes-geipan.frGEIPANCASTELJALOUX (47) 23.10.1978 | GEIPAN…
The description is more vivid. According to GEIPAN, at about 8 pm a witness accompanied by a frightened dog observed, for several minutes, the movements of a luminous object projecting orange light. The object was round and sparkling, changed speed and direction, made no particular noise, and then disappeared suddenly; GEIPAN also records that a fireball was seen emerging from it. No other testimony was collected by the gendarmerie to corroborate all the details given by the single witness.[GEIPAN]cnes-geipan.frGEIPANCASTELJALOUX (47) 23.10.1978 | GEIPAN…
The separate GEIPAN testimony entry adds useful texture. The witness is listed as a 60-year-old man, the environment as agricultural land, the sky as clear or night clear, the time as 20:40, the frame of reference as the sky, and the distance from the phenomenon as about 200 metres. The object is described as unique, roughly spherical or ball-like, with an apparent diameter of about one metre, variable apparent speed, total silence, and an environmental effect category involving living beings, animals or plants.[Geipan]geipan.frOpen source on geipan.fr.
Those details make the case locally memorable. It has many of the elements that attract readers to UFO reports: a rural setting, a close-seeming object, unusual motion, silence, an animal reaction and a dramatic final disappearance. But the same details also create caution. The strongest parts of the story are exactly the parts that depend on one person’s perception and later reporting. The frightened dog is intriguing, but it is not independent testimony; the estimated distance and size are useful, but sky distance is notoriously hard to judge without fixed references; and there is no known photograph, film, radar return or second witness to pin the event down.
The 2011 A62 motorway report
The A62 case occurred on 15 February 2011, as a woman was driving from Agen towards Bordeaux. GEIPAN’s current case page lists it in Lot-et-Garonne, classifies it D, and describes the phenomenon type as strange with medium or strong consistency. Its short summary states that a motorist observed for a few seconds a static, rather flat triangular object with rounded angles, and that the phenomenon remained unexplained.[GEIPAN]cnes-geipan.frGEIPAN[A62] de AGEN (47) vers BORDEAUX (33) 15.02.2011 | GEIPAN…
The witness questionnaire gives the human setting. The driver was travelling with her daughters for a shopping trip to Bordeaux, entered the motorway at about 9 am, and saw the object roughly a quarter of an hour later. She was driving at about 120 to 130 km/h, the morning was clear with a weak sun, and her attention was first caught by what she took to be three birds, one of which seemed to remain stationary while the others flew on.[GEIPAN]cnes-geipan.frOpen source on cnes-geipan.fr.
As she approached, she no longer thought the stationary shape was a bird of prey. She described it as a rather flat triangular object with three rounded corners, greenish-grey in colour, not very large, not very high, perhaps a little above the height of large roadside trees. She did not stop, did not brake, and saw it closely only for a few seconds before passing it and losing it from view. Her daughters were not able to confirm the sighting because they were waking and turning round too late.[GEIPAN]cnes-geipan.frOpen source on cnes-geipan.fr.
GEIPAN’s own assessment is cautious. The witness was contacted by telephone and said she regularly passed the same place but had never seen the phenomenon again. The account was considered relatively precise, but GEIPAN found it surprising that there was no other report. The official summary therefore calls it strange but not very consistent because it rests on a single testimony with no photo or video; it adds that the stationary object resembled no known object, except perhaps a kite or hang-glider, though those possibilities were considered incongruous at that place.[GEIPAN]cnes-geipan.frGEIPAN[A62] de AGEN (47) vers BORDEAUX (33) 15.02.2011 | GEIPAN…
The A62 report is therefore less dramatic than Casteljaloux but in some ways easier to picture. It is a daylight, roadside observation by a moving driver, in good visibility, with a plausible first-pass misidentification route: birds, then perhaps some other low aerial or suspended object. Yet the shape, stillness and colour were odd enough that GEIPAN did not settle on a conventional explanation.
What the comparison really shows
The two cases are often grouped because both are unresolved and both point towards Casteljaloux or its motorway surroundings. A 2012 local article explicitly linked them, saying only two department cases had received a D classification at that time: the February 2011 A62 report and, long before it, the October 1978 Casteljaloux observation. The same article placed the A62 sighting near the Casteljaloux slip road, tightening the local association between the motorway case and the older town-centred report.[ladepeche.fr]ladepeche.frAgen. Ces objets volants plus ou moins identifiésAgen. Ces objets volants plus ou moins identifiés
Their similarities are clear but limited. Both involve a single main witness. Both describe an object rather than a vague light. Both remained unexplained after official review. Both lack the kind of corroboration that would make them hard to dismiss: no clear multiple independent witnesses, no instrument record, no physical trace, no photograph and no video. In both, the strongest evidence is a structured testimony preserved through GEIPAN’s archive.[GEIPAN+2GEIPAN]cnes-geipan.frGEIPANCASTELJALOUX (47) 23.10.1978 | GEIPAN…
The differences matter just as much. Casteljaloux was a several-minute night observation of a luminous orange object whose behaviour was described as active, changing speed and direction. The A62 was a few-second daylight glimpse of a stationary flat triangular form by a driver travelling at motorway speed. Casteljaloux’s drama lies in motion, light and duration; the A62’s puzzle lies in shape, stillness and the witness’s insistence that it was not the bird of prey she first assumed.[GEIPAN]cnes-geipan.frGEIPANCASTELJALOUX (47) 23.10.1978 | GEIPAN…
This is why the pair should not be treated as a single repeating phenomenon. There is no evidence that the two reports describe the same type of object, the same cause, or a continuing local presence. What they show instead is that the Casteljaloux area has twice produced official unresolved files with enough detail to survive as local reference points, but not enough external evidence to become robust proof of anything beyond the witnesses’ reported experiences.
Why unresolved does not mean proven
The most common mistake with cases like these is to treat “unidentified” as a conclusion rather than a boundary. GEIPAN’s D label tells the reader that the investigation did not identify the phenomenon; it does not identify what the phenomenon was. GEIPAN itself emphasises a method based on collecting direct testimony, analysing the data, conducting investigation where possible, and classifying the result without speculation or unverified hypotheses.[GEIPAN]cnes-geipan.frGEIPANIts history | GEIPANGEIPANIts history | GEIPAN
For Casteljaloux, the unresolved label is strengthened by the unusual reported behaviour and the medium-to-strong consistency noted in GEIPAN’s case metadata. But it is weakened by the absence of corroboration and by the difficulty of reconstructing a 1978 rural night observation many years later. The sighting is puzzling, but its evidential weight rests almost entirely on one witness account.[GEIPAN]cnes-geipan.frGEIPANCASTELJALOUX (47) 23.10.1978 | GEIPAN…
For the A62, the unresolved label is helped by a precise, sober account from a driver who explicitly considered ordinary explanations and asked for help finding a logical answer. It is weakened by the very short duration, the moving-vehicle context, the lack of other witnesses despite a motorway setting, and GEIPAN’s own note that a kite or hang-glider might be the closest comparison even if not a satisfying fit.[GEIPAN]cnes-geipan.frOpen source on cnes-geipan.fr.
The fairest reading is therefore neither debunking by reflex nor belief by default. Casteljaloux and the A62 remain worthwhile because they preserve two unusual reports in an official archive, with enough detail for comparison and sceptical review. They do not justify a claim that Lot-et-Garonne is a UFO hotspot, nor do they establish a hidden pattern around Casteljaloux. They show something more modest and more useful: how a case can stay genuinely puzzling while still falling well short of strong proof.
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Endnotes
1.
Source: cnes-geipan.fr
Title: GEIPANIts history | GEIPAN
Link:https://www.cnes-geipan.fr/en/node/58791
2.
Source: cnes-geipan.fr
Link:https://www.cnes-geipan.fr/sites/default/files/2025-04/%5BA62%5D%20de%20AGEN%20%2847%29%20vers%20BORDEAUX%20%2833%29%2015.02.2011%20%5BM-Cgei%20PV%20T%20S%2CA%5D%202011310472-779-2011-R.pdf
3.
Source: ladepeche.fr
Title: Agen. Ces objets volants plus ou moins identifiés
Link:https://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2012/05/22/1359268-agen-ces-objets-volants-plus-ou-moins-identifies.html
4.
Source: cnes-geipan.fr
Link:https://cnes-geipan.fr/en/recherche/cas/tab?field_date_d_observation_value%5Bmax%5D=&field_date_d_observation_value%5Bmin%5D=&field_document_existe_ou_pas_value=All&field_is_new_value=All&field_is_revisited_value=All&field_latitude_value%5Bmax%5D=&field_latitude_value%5Bmin%5D=&field_longitude_value%5Bmax%5D=&field_type_de_cas_target_id=All&order=field_departement_textuel&page=94&sort=asc
5.
Source: cnes.fr
Title: GEIPAN | CNES
Link:https://cnes.fr/en/projects/geipan
6.
Source: geipan.fr
Link:https://geipan.fr/fr/temoignage/2237
7.
Source: cnes-geipan.fr
Link:https://www.cnes-geipan.fr/sites/default/files/2025-03/%5BA62%5D%20de%20AGEN%20%2847%29%20vers%20BORDEAUX%20%2833%29%2015.02.2011%20%5BE-Cgei%20Geog%20C%2CP%20S%5D%20elements%20enquete_0.pdf
8.
Source: geipan.fr
Link:https://geipan.fr/fr/recherche/cas/tab?field_agregation_index_value=&field_classification_des_cas_target_id%5B0%5D=13&field_classification_des_cas_target_id%5B1%5D=14&field_date_d_observation_value%5Bmax%5D=&field_date_d_observation_value%5Bmin%5D=&field_date_value=&field_departement_target_id=&field_document_existe_ou_pas_value=All&field_is_new_value=All&field_is_revisited_value=All&field_latitude_value%5Bmax%5D=&field_latitude_value%5Bmin%5D=&field_longitude_value%5Bmax%5D=&field_longitude_value%5Bmin%5D=&field_phenomene_target_id=&field_type_de_cas_target_id=All&order=field_classification_des_cas&page=51&select-category-export=nothing&sort=asc
9.
Source: geipan.fr
Link:https://www.geipan.fr/fr/recherche/cas/tab?field_date_d_observation_value%5Bmax%5D=&field_date_d_observation_value%5Bmin%5D=&field_document_existe_ou_pas_value=All&field_is_new_value=All&field_is_revisited_value=All&field_latitude_value%5Bmax%5D=&field_latitude_value%5Bmin%5D=&field_longitude_value%5Bmin%5D=&field_type_de_cas_target_id=All&order=field_departement_textuel&page=92&sort=asc
10.
Source: geipan.fr
Link:https://geipan.fr/en/recherche/cas/tab?field_is_new_value=All&field_is_revisited_value=All&field_type_de_cas_target_id=116&order=field_departement_textuel&page=92&select-category-export=nothing&sort=asc
11.
Source: ladepeche.fr
Title: ovni en france les limiers du geipan 13386810
Link:https://www.ladepeche.fr/2026/05/26/ovni-en-france-les-limiers-du-geipan-13386810.php
12.
Source: ladepeche.fr
Link:https://www.ladepeche.fr/communes/marmande%2C47157/
13.
Source: ladepeche.fr
Link:https://www.ladepeche.fr/communes/agen%2C47001/
14.
Source: ladepeche.fr
Link:https://www.ladepeche.fr/articles/2025/12/04/
15.
Source: cnes-geipan.fr
Link:https://cnes-geipan.fr/fr/cas/1978-10-00560
16.
Source: cnes-geipan.fr
Link:https://www.cnes-geipan.fr/fr/cas/2011-02-02732
17.
Source: cnes-geipan.fr
Link:https://www.cnes-geipan.fr/sites/default/files/save_json_import_files/export_cas_pub_20251127093552.csv
18.
Source: cnes-geipan.fr
Link:https://cnes-geipan.fr/en/node/47733
19.
Source: cnes-geipan.fr
Link:https://www.cnes-geipan.fr/fr/recherche/cas/tab?customGetLattitude=47.76986450938331&customGetLongitude=1.1865234375000004&customGetZoom=6&field_agregation_index_value=&field_date_d_observation_value%5Bmax%5D=&field_date_d_observation_value%5Bmin%5D=&field_date_value=&field_departement_target_id=&field_document_existe_ou_pas_value=All&field_is_new_value=All&field_is_revisited_value=1&field_latitude_value%5Bmax%5D=52.03897658307622&field_latitude_value%5Bmin%5D=43.50075243569041&field_longitude_value%5Bmax%5D=8.657226562500002&field_longitude_value%5Bmin%5D=-6.284179687500001&field_phenomene_target_id=&field_type_de_cas_target_id=All&order=field_date_d_observation&page=%2C5&sort=asc
20.
Source: cnes-geipan.fr
Link:https://www.cnes-geipan.fr/en/recherche/cas/tab?field_is_new_value=All&field_is_revisited_value=1&field_type_de_cas_target_id=All&order=field_classification_des_cas&page=8%2C1&sort=asc
21.
Source: cnes-geipan.fr
Link:https://www.cnes-geipan.fr/en/recherche/cas/tab?field_agregation_index_value=Gard&field_is_new_value=All&field_is_revisited_value=All&field_type_de_cas_target_id=All&order=field_classification_des_cas&page=0&sort=desc
22.
Source: cnes-geipan.fr
Link:https://www.cnes-geipan.fr/sites/default/files/Aids_to_identification_of_flying_objects_FR_V1.pdf
23.
Source: cnes-geipan.fr
Link:https://www.cnes-geipan.fr/fr/recherche/cas/tab?field_agregation_index_value=&field_classification_des_cas_target_id%5B12%5D=12&field_classification_des_cas_target_id%5B13%5D=13&field_classification_des_cas_target_id%5B14%5D=14&field_classification_des_cas_target_id%5B15%5D=15&field_classification_des_cas_target_id%5B16%5D=16&field_date_d_observation_value%5Bmax%5D=&field_date_d_observation_value%5Bmin%5D=&field_date_value=&field_departement_target_id=&field_document_existe_ou_pas_value=1&field_is_new_value=All&field_is_revisited_value=All&field_latitude_value%5Bmax%5D=&field_latitude_value%5Bmin%5D=&field_longitude_value%5Bmax%5D=&field_longitude_value%5Bmin%5D=&field_phenomene_target_id=&field_type_de_cas_target_id=All&order=field_departement_textuel&page=65&select-category-export=nothing&sort=asc&video=on
24.
Source: cnes-geipan.fr
Link:https://www.cnes-geipan.fr/fr/recherche/cas/tab?field_agregation_index_value=&field_classification_des_cas_target_id%5B12%5D=12&field_classification_des_cas_target_id%5B13%5D=13&field_classification_des_cas_target_id%5B14%5D=14&field_classification_des_cas_target_id%5B15%5D=15&field_classification_des_cas_target_id%5B16%5D=16&field_date_d_observation_value%5Bmax%5D=&field_date_d_observation_value%5Bmin%5D=&field_date_value=&field_departement_target_id=&field_document_existe_ou_pas_value=1&field_is_new_value=All&field_is_revisited_value=All&field_latitude_value%5Bmax%5D=&field_latitude_value%5Bmin%5D=&field_longitude_value%5Bmax%5D=&field_longitude_value%5Bmin%5D=&field_phenomene_target_id=&field_type_de_cas_target_id=All&order=field_departement_textuel&page=51&select-category-export=nothing&sort=desc&video=on
25.
Source: cnes-geipan.fr
Title: Tableau temoignages R
Link:https://www.cnes-geipan.fr/sites/default/files/Tableau%20temoignages-R.pdf
26.
Source: Wikipedia
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEIPAN
27.
Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLXDikL331Y
28.
Source: viamichelin.fr
Link:https://www.viamichelin.fr/itineraires/resultats/agen-47000-lot_et_garonne-nouvelle_aquitaine-france-to-casteljaloux-47700-lot_et_garonne-nouvelle_aquitaine-france
Additional References
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Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/100063598805982/videos/2-objets-volants-non-identifi%C3%A9s-hier-soir-dans-le-ciel-du-bornmerci-%C3%A0-la-videast/982527187902705/
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Source: defnat.com
Link:https://www.defnat.com/e-RDN/vue-article.php?carticle=19823&cidrevue=143
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Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/France3Occitanie/posts/comment-fonctionne-le-geipan-le-groupe-d%C3%A9tudes-et-dinformations-sur-les-ph%C3%A9nom%C3%A8n/971177045625594/
32.
Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/C8TV/videos/lovni-fran%C3%A7ais-qui-inqui%C3%A8te-la-nasa-enqu%C3%AAtes-paranormales/354876669281092/
33.
Source: casteladventure.com
Link:https://www.casteladventure.com/l-odyssee-des-messager
34.
Source: nationalgeographic.fr
Link:https://www.nationalgeographic.fr/espace/france-qui-se-cache-derriere-le-geipan-le-bureau-des-ovnis-en-france-etrange-enquetes
35.
Source: facebook.com
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36.
Source: youtube.com
Title: ALIENS: NEW THEORIES THAT ARE DISTURBING!
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdbTDxADYuI
37.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Extraterrestrial life: proof coming soon?
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkDXEZPb1B0
38.
Source: youtube.com
Title: UFOs, aliens: why is Trump declassifying?
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1Olr4FyNbs
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