France's Official UFO Office
France's space agency has studied UFO reports since 1977, and anyone can read its case files online.
What was reported
In 1977 France's national space agency, CNES, set up a unit in Toulouse to collect and study reports of unidentified aerial phenomena. Now called GEIPAN, it receives reports through the police and gendarmerie, investigates them and classifies each one.
In 2007 it became one of the first government bodies in the world to publish its case files online.
Explanations offered
Most cases are explained as aircraft, satellites, balloons, sky lanterns, planets or other known causes. A few per cent are classed 'D', unexplained even after investigation, usually because the evidence is thin rather than because anything extraordinary has been shown. French cases such as Trans-en-Provence are among them.
- When
- Since 1977
- Where
- Toulouse, France
- Witnesses
- Members of the public, reporting through the police and gendarmerie
- Status
- Mostly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.