Type: UFO Investigation Report
Source: Joël Mesnard and Claude Pavy, GEPA
The 1968 GEPA investigation into the Close encounter of Cussac was conducted by researchers Joël Mesnard and Claude Pavy, who published their findings in the ufology magazine Phénomènes Spatiaux (Issue 16, June 1968). Their report, titled "Rencontre 'diabolique' sur le plateau de Cussac," detailed the testimony of two children, François (13) and Anne-Marie (9) Delpeuch, who claimed to have seen a spherical object and four small, dark figures on August 29, 1967, near Cussac, France.
The investigators found the children’s testimonies to be consistent and sincere, noting no signs of fabrication or external influence.
Key elements of their report included:
Witness Accounts: The children described the entities as having webbed feet and one holding a mirror-like object; the sphere departed in a spiral trajectory emitting a high-pitched whistle and an acrid sulfur-like odor.
Physical Evidence: The report included drawings and a photograph taken at the site, as well as descriptions of a circular grass trace and the children’s physical agitation (tears, sleeplessness) following the event.
International Publication: The investigation was translated into English as "Encounters With 'Devils'" and published in the Flying Saucer Review (September 1968), bringing significant attention to the case.
While the GEPA concluded the phenomenon was unidentified, later investigations by the official French agency GEPAN (in 1978) and skeptical critics like Éric Maillot debated the case, with some suggesting a helicopter reflection or psychological factors, though the official GEPAN analysis initially classified it as a Close Encounter of the Third Kind due to the credibility of the witnesses and the lack of a conventional explanation.