The European Grouping of Marketing Professionals, widely named, GEPM, then renamed CEDIPAC SA, was a multi-level marketing company founded in the U.S. in 1988 by Jean Godzich, a former member of Amway. In France, its headquarters were in

Fleury-sur-Andelle Fleury-sur-Andelle (; nrf, Flleury-sus-Aundelle) is a commune in the Eure department, in the region of Normandy, northern France. Population International relations It is twinned with East Goscote, Leicestershire. See also *Communes of the E ...

Eure Eure () is a department in Normandy in Northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2019, Eure had a population of 599,507.cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

, as well as two parliamentary reports.

Doctrine and organization

The GEPM, also called "the Business" by his followers, proposed a series of various daily life products, and seminars, rallies, travels, etc., and asked to recruit new members by canvassing, promising the wealth to the followers. The doctrine developed by Godzich mixed marketing techniques, biblical verses and esotericism. Several status could be reached by members, including 'ambassador', 'excellency' and 'diamond'. In 1995, the GEPM founded

Le Groupement Le Groupement was a French cycling team that existed from the beginning of the 1995 season until a week before the start of that year's Tour de France in June 1995. Financial difficulties and allegations of a pyramid scheme against its main spon ...

, a French professional team of cycling in 1995.

Luc Leblanc Luc Leblanc (born 4 August 1966 in Limoges, France) is a retired French professional road cyclist. He was World Road Champion in 1994. Biography In 1978, a drunk driver hit Luc Leblanc, aged 11, and his younger brother Gilles Leblanc, aged 8. G ...

Ronan Pensec Ronan Pensec (born 10 July 1963) is a former French professional road bicycle racer. He was professional from 1985 to 1997. Racing career Pensec was born in Douarnenez, Finistère, France. He became professional in 1985 with the Peugeot cycling ...

, Pascal Lino and Graeme Obree were among its adherents.

Reception

According to some journalistic articles, the GEPM was in connexion with the First Assembly of God Church, deemed by them as a

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

evangelist church, directed in the U.S. by Godzich's brother, and many distributors of the GEPM were baptized in this church. In addition, excessive demands for money and the huge time devoted to the GEPM, that was deemed as harmful to member's family life, led to numerous complaints to the Institut national de la Consommation and to anti-cult associations ( UNADFI, CCMM, Secticide). In 1995, the premises of French anti-cult association UNADFI were invaded by members of the GEPM to protest against the accusations of cultic deviances and asked the then president, Janine Tavernier, to explain why the group was criticized. The police were forced to intervene. The group was placed in receivership in 1995. The group was classified as

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

in the 1995 and 1999 reports established by the

Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France The French National Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of France, set up a Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France (french: Commission parlementaire sur les sectes en France) on 11 July 1995 following the events involving the members ...

(under the name CEDIPAC SA, its new name then, then under Federation of the networks agreement édération d'agrément des réseaux or FAR a group founded by former members). It was labelled as "evangelical" cult. Sociologist Bruno Étienne criticized this classification, as the group's activity mainly consists in multi-level marketing. The CCMM, as well as

Jean Vernette Fr. Jean Vernette (26 February 1929, Port-Vendres, Pyrénées-Orientales - 16 September 2002) was a French priest of the diocese of Montauban. He was considered a specialist by the Roman Catholic Church. In 1973, Vernette was appointed national s ...

, then national secretary of French episcopate for the study of cults and new religious movements, also considered this qualification as irrelevant. On June, the 22nd 1997, at the Zénith, Paris, crowded by more than 6000 distributors, the Federation of networks agreement (Fédération d'agrément des réseaux or FAR), created by former GEPM members (Jean-Claude Martini, Gilbert Husson, André-Pierre Alexandre, Thierry Vavasseur,...) officially launches the new "Direct Distribution Franchise" AKEO which will be taken over by the new company NOAO created by André-Pierre Alexandre in 2001. In 2007, Godzich was condemned of three-year prison and 500,000-euro fine, for abuse of social goods.

References

{{Multi-level marketing Cults Defunct multi-level marketing companies Marketing companies established in 1988 Companies disestablished in the 1990s