Mayan apocalypse: Bugarach prepares for the end - in pictures

French mounted police patrol the village, blocking access to the mountain at the centre of the storm. The peak is one of the few places on Earth some believe will be spared when the world allegedly ends, according to interpretations of the ancient Mayan calendar Photograph: Guillaume Horcajuelo/EPA

Michel Blondel, 75, who lives in Bugarach, does not believe in the end of the world but says he is trying to get a pass to get on the mountain to help the police Photograph: Federico Scoppa/Demotix/Corbis

Ian Napp from the UK, a former chef living in Esperanza and working as a carpenter, came to Bugarach to be ready if the world ends, with his inflatable boat to survive the tsunami
Photograph: Federico Scoppa/Demotix/Corbis

A tourist paints the Pic de Bugarach Photograph: Patrick Aventurier/Getty Images

Silvan Piere Durif, from Arques, points at the sky and says he is 'connected with Jesus' Photograph: Federico Scoppa/Demotix/Corbis

Journalists' film the 1,231m-high peak of Bugarach Photograph: Eric Cabanis/AFP/Getty Images

Tourists visit Bugarach Photograph: Patrick Aventurier/Getty Images

Martine Hulotte, from Toulouse, who wants to climb the mountain to be saved Photograph: Federico Scoppa/Demotix/Corbis

A police helicopter controls access to the Pic de Bugarach Photograph: Guillaume Horcajuelo/EPA

Speleologists from the gendarmerie inspect caves in Bugarach Photograph: Patrick Aventurier/Getty Images

A pyramid shaped object lies in a field in Bugarach Photograph: Patrick Aventurier/Getty Images

Tourists sit in their van in Bugarach. Miviludes, the French government's dedicated sect watchdog, are investigating the likelihood of apocalyptic sect activity or ritualised suicides due to the prophecy of an ancient Mayan calendar, which also claims that Burgarach is the only place on Earth which will be saved from the apocalypse Photograph: Patrick Aventurier/Getty Images

People walk past a model meant to represent a UFO hanging outside a window in Bugarach Photograph: Marko Drobnjakovic/AP