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From Corsica, a photographer captures red sprites above Marseille's storms

Florian Riou spends days planning photographs of luminous atmospheric flashes that can disappear in a tenth of a second.

Channel: TF1 INFO ·

FranceStory of October 28, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of TF1 INFO's most watched videos since yesterday, with 42,939 views.

TF1 INFO: The news division of TF1, a private French television channel owned by the Bouygues group. 1.8M subscribers and 1.9B views.

Phénomène météo rare : le spectacle grandiose des farfadets｜TF1 INFO

The storm is near Marseille, but Florian Riou has his camera trained on it from Corsica, roughly 300 kilometers away. Above the distant thunderclouds, red filaments briefly illuminate the sky. His photographs preserve an appearance that would otherwise be almost impossible to follow with the naked eye.

France's TF1 INFO follows the professional natural-phenomena photographer as he searches for sprites, known in French as farfadets. The name also means a kind of sprite or goblin: when Riou asks passing hikers whether they know the phenomenon, one wonders whether he means little elves.

These are atmospheric electrical events, not creatures. They occur in the mesosphere, high above thunderstorms. Riou explains that excited nitrogen molecules produce their red color. According to the report, the flashes last an average of just a tenth of a second.

Capturing them involves much more waiting than the finished pictures suggest. In his converted van, Riou studies weather maps on a laptop, follows developing storms and works out where to position his camera. Distance, direction and a clear view of the sky above the clouds all matter to his preparations.

The report revisits his photograph of a sprite appearing directly above the Corsican village of Montemaggiore, an image that spread widely online. Footage records his excited reaction as he recognizes the enormous flash above the village.

Later, another evening's planning pays off with a series of sprites above the storm near Marseille. Riou checks the images on his camera: the brief red apparitions are visible from an island far across the water.

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