Apocalypse 2012: France's Bugarach Peak Draws Believers Who Await Alien Rescuers

UPDATE: In a statement to The Huffington Post, the Ramtha School of Enlightenment said that the French watchdog agency Miviludes mistakenly identified the school as being one of the sectarian groups present at Bugarach Peak. The statement said that the Ramtha School of Enlightenment does not hold apocalyptic beliefs and has no settlements in France.

Miviludes did not respond to multiple calls asking for comment.

EARLIER:
Sects of doomsday believers have started descending on the tiny French town of Bugarach in the belief that it's the only place in the world that will survive the apocalypse they expect will occur on December 21, 2012, the BBC reports.

Many spiritual groups believe that Bugarach, a farming village of just 200 residents nestled on the French side of the Pyrenees, has magical powers that emanate from the overlooking mountain, the Pic de Bugarach, according to Time Magazine.

For years, Internet users have speculated that the mountain is inhabited by extraterrestrials that will emerge on the December 21, 2012 and take followers with them as human civilization comes to an end.

Since the beginning of the year, over 20,000 people have climbed to the top of the mountain to stake out the site and perform rituals, according to the town's mayor Jean-Pierre Delord.

"They think Pic de Bugarach is 'un garage à ovnis' [an alien garage]," Delord told The Independent. "The villagers are exasperated: the exaggerated importance of something which they see as completely removed from reality is bewildering. After December 21st, this will surely return to normal."

As more and more New Age visitors trek to the mountain, government watchdog agencies have begun tracking the sects as the town becomes increasingly vulnerable to scammers looking to capitalize on the growing apocalyptic fervor, Reuters reports.

Georges Fenech, president of the French watchdog agency Miviludes, told Reuters in 2011 that he flew over Bugarach in a helicopter and saw six settlements started by the American Ramtha School of Enlightenment. The group claims to follow the mystic teachings of an ancient warrior named Ramtha who battled the residents of Atlantis over 35,000 years ago and discovered the secret to immortality.

Another group referenced by Miviludes in connection with Bugarach, profiled in a 2010 annual report, is the Raelians, a religion founded by race car driver Claude Vorilhon that focuses on the belief that life on earth was designed by extraterrestrials.

Fenech told Reuters that in the months leading up to December 21st -- during which the population of Bugarach could balloon to 100,000 -- government agencies are taking special precaution to prevent mass suicides and other dangerous activities.

"I think we need to be careful. We shouldn't get paranoid, but when you see what happened at Waco in the United States, we know this kind of thinking can influence vulnerable people," Fenech told Reuters.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly attributed information about alleged Ramtha School of Enlightenment settlements in France to a 2010 report published by the French Agency Miviludes. Though the report did provide its own profile of the Ramtha School of Englightenment, it did not specifically say that the school had six settlements in France. That information came from the Reuters article "French village bemused by Apocalyptic strangers,” which stated that "the head of Miviludes, Georges Fenech says he flew over the area in a helicopter recently and saw six settlements of the U.S.-based Ramtha movement, founded by J.Z. Knight in 1998."

Watch CNN's report on the Bugarach activity below:

Comments

[forex broker]

11:00 PM on 12/18/2012

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[Hollypop]

02:46 AM on 12/15/2012

O LITTLE TOWN OF BUGARACH

It's getting quite close to Christmas

and the end of the world is nigh

which makes present buying more difficult

to know what's best to buy

then I had an E piphany

(I found the solution on line)

Rubber rings are the best thing for presents

to save us from the rising tides.

So will we be stranded in these Corbiere hills ?

away from the maddening crowds

waiting for a spaceship to appear

whilst watching shoals of cows

or will the end of the world simply be

an upside down molehill affair

blown out of all proportions

Well frankly I'm not sure I care

Meanwhile down the road in Bugarach

the Mayor is in quite a rage

because his once quiet and 'tranquille' village

has been invaded by 'New Age'

Freaks in robes all white and starched

Treasure hunters in camping cars

Long queues of hippies in the local bars

and they are running outer space

I don't want to go to Bugarach

nor spend my Christmas in space

anyway without a passport and visa

they won't let you into the place.

The roads in and out are a traffic jam

and there are strange looking people in tents

and a ruddy big sign when you get there that says

'NO SECTS PLEASE WE'RE FRENCH !'

[absolutron]

08:39 PM on 12/10/2012

Something WILL happen on December 21st. but it will not be death and destruction as many have anticipated; rather, the human race will undergo a great awakening or enlightenment. Currently 98% of our DNA code is considered “junk”. On that day of galactic alignment, we as a race will finally be granted the key to this remaining piece of our identity. We will, at last, understand who we are as a species, where we came from, what we are capable of, and what we were put here to do. Rest assured, it is not for chance that you and I are alive here at this time of great consciousness shift; we have been training for this moment for many lifetimes. Stay calm, meditate, rid yourself of negativity and embrace this next milestone in human development with courage and happiness.
Best Wishes.

[vcoverdale]

04:49 PM on 09/16/2012

The Ramtha's school of Enlightenment most certainly fear-mongers and JZ Knight's fraudulent character Ramtha has given many apocalyptic speeches. She has discussed the millions that will die due to (speech changed every few years), planet "X" crashing into us, disease, flood, alien wars...it goes on and on. She did encourage her French followers to run to the mountains and many have who she couldn't convince to move here to Yelm, WA. She is con artist and the leader of a very destructive cult. Huffpost, I would not apologize for anything you wrote about this charlatan.

[Jef Mindrup]

05:36 PM on 08/19/2012

Someone is selling rocks from Bugarach http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bugarach-Rock-End-of-the-World-Survival-December-21-2012-/251134717384?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a78cbadc8

[YCT]

12:54 PM on 04/01/2012

Sensationalism is defined as:
the use of strongly emotional subject matter, or wildly dramatic style,
language, or artistic expression, that is intended to shock, startle, thrill, excite, etc.

Here are its components from this article:
fear (2012/end of the world);
shock (unrelated inferences to mass suicides, Waco TX);
startle (aliens living in the mountain);
thrill (naked people climbing the mountain);
and excite (French authorities asked to intervene).

One could almost think that the Mayor "protests too much", deliberately promoting fear to exploit his town by calling attention to a "problem".

[AH19]

09:01 PM on 03/31/2012

I have been a part of Ramtha's School of Enlightenment for around 15 years. I can personally say that Ramtha has never "preached" about "Doomsday" or anything of the sort. He has, however, encouraged us all to be sovereign and self-sufficient, and to not depend on the resources of anyone else or any institution. Ramtha's students are not survivalists, we are sovereignists. We have always been taught to be prepared for anything, to be able to provide and care for ourselves and our families in any circumstance or situation. A sovereign person is able to support their life without gambling on banks, the stock market, or paper investments.

[vcoverdale]

04:53 PM on 09/16/2012

AH19, you are full of it. The argument is not about sovereignty. Sovereignty is prudent and makes sense for any family in case of any disruption. However I sat through doomsday speeches and I can't believe you can't see how she talks out both sides of her mouth. Millions will die, disease, floods, alien wars, the story changes every year but the message is the same. Keep coming back and paying me money or you will not be able to survive these calamities, then she strokes your hair and tells you not to be afraid everything will be okay. Classic fear mongering cult indoctrination 101.

[Greg Sureck]

07:37 PM on 03/30/2012

I'll be driving my car to france for this event. any suggestions as to the most sciencic route?

[Tribidemp]

04:17 PM on 03/30/2012

I no longer feel sorry for these people.

[master greg]

01:20 PM on 03/30/2012

In your recent article: Apocalypse 2012: France's Bugarach Peak Draw Believers Who Await Alien Rescuers grossly misrepresents Ramtha’s School of Enlightenment as having “no less than six settlements in the area surrounding Bugarach.” The facts are that there are only 34 French students in the whole of France, and none with a Bugarach address. And secondly, in the thirty plus years of being a student of Ramtha’s School, Bugarach has never been mentioned by Ramtha or JZ Knight.
It is also important to know that Georges Fenech, President of the watchdog agency Miviludes, has had to resign as President of the legal union in 1998, was investigated by France’s judicial system in 2001, and had his reelection to the National Assembly voided in 2008.

[vcoverdale]

04:57 PM on 09/16/2012

Oh Greg you really are a piece of work. They have confused you with this other charlatan but your french students are scared and headed for the hills as your fraud told them to do. Alien rescue/intervention has always been part of the teachings at RSE as well as tons of doomsday prophesies from everything alien, lizards, disease, floods and lecturing about the millions who will not survive. Most all the dates have come and gone and many of your followers are now thankfully waking up to the fraud you and JZ and others have perpetuated on them stealing millions and destroying lives. Your comments will no longer go unchecked.

[almchrl13]

09:32 AM on 03/30/2012

Just don't bring any stinky cheese on board.

[almchrl13]

09:31 AM on 03/30/2012

And all these yeasr I though the place would be DIsneyworld.

[LMPE]

12:02 AM on 03/30/2012

Sounds as if someone took "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" a little too seriously.

[fredgladys]

03:52 PM on 03/29/2012

Look around people, would intelligent aliens really want to import earthlings into their society.

[Wayne T]

02:36 AM on 03/30/2012

Of course they would! Weak minded fools are good for slave labour.

[sallybutt45]

12:23 AM on 04/02/2012

Or a great main course!

[DrJon]

02:58 PM on 03/29/2012

This type BS is great for the local economy!