GEPAN / SEPRA (CNES, 1977-2004).
documentedagencyInternational UAP Agencies
Predecessor offices of GEIPAN within France's space agency CNES: GEPAN (Groupe d'Etude des Phenomenes Aerospatiaux Non-identifies, founded 1977) -> SEPRA (1988) -> renamed GEIPAN in 2004 on COMETA's recommendation.
France is the only country to have assigned official UAP collection/study to a civilian agency continuously since 1977. GEPAN was created by CNES in 1977; restructured as SEPRA in 1988 (also handling atmospheric-reentry/orbital-debris monitoring); renamed GEIPAN in 2004. Based in Toulouse. This node captures the pre-2004 lineage feeding the existing geipan_cnes node.