News Digest

No laughing matter: Clown terror spreads in France

A wave of panic sparked by evil clowns stalking French towns has spread to the south of France where police on Saturday night arrested 14 teenagers dressed as the pranksters, carrying pistols, knives and baseball bats. A police source said the group of teens were arrested in the parking lot of a high school in the port town of Agde, as several other complaints poured in over “armed clowns” in the region over the weekend. In the Mediterranean city of Montpellier a man disguised as a clown was arrested after beating up a pedestrian with an iron bar, while three motorists in different towns complained about “scary clowns” threatening them.

Symptomatic of the impact of the internet, this phenomenon can lead to damaging individual acts and disturbances to public order.

Statement issued by French Police

The phenomenon of dressing up as an evil clown and terrifying passers-by cropped up in the north of France in October. Theories abound as to the origin of the trend: a challenge on social networks, a video published on YouTube and even a recent episode of popular series American Horror Story featuring Twisty the killer clown have been blamed. After a rumour a clown was stalking the eastern town of Mulhouse, five teenagers on Wednesday armed themselves with a baseball bat, a teargas canister, a hammer and a truncheon to mete out justice to the not-so-funny pranksters, prompting French police to issue a statement against clown vigilantes.