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The sun is currently in a phase of high activity, which explains why the northern lights are dipping lower in latitude this year. Normally in France we almost never see them, but with the geomagnetic storms being more frequent these days, it happens that we can spot them from the north of the country. It's something we're noticing more in 2026 than in previous years, especially during moonless nights when the sky is clear.
Don't go thinking it's just a matter of latitude, it's also because solar storms are sending really massive charged particles this year! So even down to mainland France you can spot them if conditions are just right, and honestly it's crazy to be able to see them without having to trek all the way up to Scandinavia.
It's really the combination of two things that's making it happen this year: the solar cycle is at its peak activity (the solar maximum, basically), and at the same time we've had several really intense geomagnetic storms that sent masses of particles down to abnormally low latitudes.
I live in the Paris region and I was able to see one last February, it was crazy - a light pink-green band in the northwest that lasted like 20 minutes.
Normally you'd forget they even exist in France, so it's really exceptional to be able to observe them without having to go to Scandinavia.
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