GEIPAN Case 1982-01-00913 — TRANCRAINVILLE (28) 23.01.1982

Brief

On 23 January 1982, witnesses in Trancrainville (department 28, Eure-et-Loir) reported a mobile luminous phenomenon that lit broad sections of the surrounding landscape across a significant distance. The case was investigated by GEPAN, the CNES unit that later became SEPRA and then GEIPAN, and was assigned Classification D — the agency's designation for cases that remain unexplained after full investigation. Supporting materials include gendarmerie procès-verbaux and possibly technical notes. GEIPAN published the file as part of its 2007 archive release, with a note that older classified cases are being re-examined using updated software and accumulated operational experience.

Metadata

Agency

GEIPAN / CNES

Release

2007-03-22

Type

PDF • .pdf

Length

25 pages

Classification

UNCLASSIFIED

Programs

GEIPAN, GEPAN, SEPRA

Tags

luminous, mobile, wide-area illumination, France, 1982, GEIPAN Class D, rural, winter

Key points

• Classification D under the GEIPAN/GEPAN system means the phenomenon could not be explained despite thorough investigation — the highest degree of anomaly in the French national framework.
• The phenomenon was described as luminous and mobile, capable of illuminating large zones of landscape over a significant distance — suggesting substantial apparent luminosity and spatial extent.
• Evidentiary basis includes gendarmerie procès-verbaux (official sworn police statements) and possibly technical notes, giving the file formal law-enforcement provenance.
• The investigating body is CNES's dedicated UAP unit, which operated under three successive names: GEPAN (1977–1988), SEPRA (1988–2004), and GEIPAN (2005–present).
• GEIPAN's 2007 archive release included a re-examination caveat: older A/B/C/D classifications are being revisited using new technical tools (software) and accumulated experience, meaning the D rating could be revised.
• Trancrainville is a small commune in Eure-et-Loir (department 28), north-central France — a rural area where ambient light pollution in 1982 would have been minimal, potentially aiding witness observation.

Most interesting

• GEIPAN Classification D is formally defined as 'unexplained despite the quality and quantity of data collected' — fewer than 3% of GEIPAN cases reach this rating.
• The Eure-et-Loir department sits roughly 80 km southwest of Paris; the January date places the event in winter conditions with long nights, which may bear on how the illumination effect was perceived.
• France is one of the few nations whose space agency (CNES) has continuously operated a government UAP investigation unit since 1977, making GEIPAN records among the most institutionally robust in the world.
• Gendarmerie procès-verbaux carry legal weight under French law — they are sworn depositions, not informal reports, giving witness testimony in this file a higher evidentiary standard than most UAP case records.
• The description notes the phenomenon illuminated 'large zones of landscape' — a detail that recurs in several high-confidence French cases from the same era, including the 1981 Trans-en-Provence landing trace case (also Class D).