General French News | Tourists flock to home of UFO legend at Bugarach, south west France

Tuesday, December 28th at 21:30 by Laura Nineham

There's one village in southwestern France that has been attracting such a high volume of tourists that the mayor has threatened to call in the army to protect it from the floods of visitors.

Bugarach is a peaceful farming village in the Aude region, with a population of just 189. The village sits at the foot of the highest mountain in the Corbières wine-growing area and is usually a quiet place.

Recently the village has seen many people seeking out French holidays with a twist; a group of people believe that extraterrestrials are waiting for the world to end, in a massive cavity beneath the rock, where they will leave and take a few humans with them, and have holidayed in the area to witness it for themselves.

According to The Telegraph, they believe that Armageddon will take place on December 21 2012 - the end date of the ancient Maya calendar - when they think human civilisation will end. They think Bugarach is one of several 'sacred mountains' that will be sheltered from the cataclysm.

The mayor said people have been taking French holidays in Bugarach for the past 10 years searching for alien life after a local man completed a UFO review of the area.

Whether there are UFOs under the rock or not, one Brit who has retired to Bugarach said there is a special feeling around the place. 'But if I really believed the world were about to end, I'd have a whale of a time over the next to years rather than look for salvation,' she said.