FRANCE: Residents of Apocalypse-proof French village of Bugarach wake up to a calm morning, no sign of world's end in sight

Record ID: 862329

  • Title: FRANCE: Residents of Apocalypse-proof French village of Bugarach wake up to a calm morning, no sign of world's end in sight
  • Date: 21st December 2012
  • Summary: BUGARACH, FRANCE (DECEMBER 21, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ROCKY OUTCROP ABOVE BUGARACH VARIOUS OF THE VILLAGE OF BUGARACH SATELLITE TRUCK OUTSIDE VILLAGE BUGARACH SIGN (SOUNDBITE) (French) LOCAL RESIDENT BERNARD PELLETIER SAYING: "There is nothing. So tomorrow, it will be calm, everyone will leave and we'll have party just the few of us and Christmas is coming. That's it." (SOUNDBITE) (French) AUDE PREFECT ERIC FREYSSELINARD SAYING: "Today we have no crowds in the village so I observed that our organisation, the police, has dissuaded people from coming to the village." VARIOUS OF POLICE CONTROLS
  • Embargoed: 5th January 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France
  • City:
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz,Quirky,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVA9MWPAU1CYWSHT1U1A9Z0JYMCE
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  • Story Text: The small French village of Bugarach and its hordes of journalists woke up to a calm, quiet morning on Friday (December 21), and according to residents there were no signs of the anticipated apocalypse in sight.
    Media frenzy has overrun the tiny town for weeks, responding to rumours that the mountain which dwarfs Bugarach, the Pic de Bugarach, harbours aliens that will rescue the village from the apocalypse, scheduled to occur today by some interpretations of the Mayan calendar.
    Hundreds of journalists from around the world have been posted in the tiny town, which has been placed on lockdown by authorities for days and residents said they are relieved to finally see the end of the attention tomorrow.
    Resident Bernard Pelletier said he is looking forward to a Christmas free of interference by international media.

    "There is nothing. So tomorrow, it will be calm, everyone will leave and we'll have party just the few of us and Christmas is coming. That's it," Pelletier said.
    Prefect of Aude County Eric Freysselinard, where Bugarach is located, said authorities have been firmly controlling who enters the village on Friday.

    "Today we have no crowds in the village so I observed that our organisation, the police, has dissuaded people from coming to the village," Freysselinard said.
    In any case, whether the Mayan prophecy does hold true or not, one thing is certain: tomorrow, the town of Bugarach will once again return to its life of peace and quiet.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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