Abstract: A multiple-reference motion-compensated predictive coding method is provided, which includes a multiple-reference motion estimation step, of the type making it possible to estimate the motion for each current frame included in a video sequence, from at least one initial list of reference frames for said current frame, each initial list LIi including Ni reference frames selected in a predetermined manner, with i>1 and Ni22 2. The multiple-reference motion estimation step includes the following steps for each current frame: for each initial list LIi, obtaining of a corresponding short list LRi by selecting ki reference frame(s) from among the Ni reference frames included in said initial list LIi, with 1<ki<Ni; and estimating motion based on the ki reference image(s) for each short list LRi. A flash frame detection step is performed based on the ki reference frame(s) selected for each short list LRi.