French village bemused by Apocalyptic strangers

Residents of the tiny southern French hamlet of Bugarach, population 194, are up in arms at a rising influx of Doomsday believers convinced it is the only place that will survive judgement day in 2012. Apocalypse devotees dressed in white are now a familiar sight in this picturesque village, drawn here by various New Age theories including claims that a nearby rocky outcrop, the Pic de Bugarach, harbors an alien technical base.

"These blasted prophets from all over the world have turned our mountain into some sort of UFO garage," Jean-Pierre Delord, mayor of Bugarach, said. "You may think it's funny, but they're deadly serious ... The end result is that all these fanatics are coming here to hide out," he said.

The Internet is awash with predictions that the world will come to an end next year, based in part on an interpretation of the ancient Mayan calendar which claims December 21, 2012, marks the end of the current era. Surrounded in legend for centuries, Bugarach has become a focal point for many Apocalypse believers as rumors have circulated that its mountain contains doors into other worlds, or that extraterrestrials will return there on Judgement day to take refuge at their base.

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In sleepy Bugarach, 86-year-old Marie-Simone, whose job it is to decorate the small village church with flowers, just sighs and shrugs when she hears of the esoteric goings on. "Apparently it all comes from the Internet. But they should just clear off, they'll never find any UFOs," she said, adding that neither she nor the village priest believe a word of it.