French village declares 'absolute' ban on Halloween clowns


The tiny town of Vendargues in southern France has banned clown costumes on its streets this Halloween. Mayor Pierre Dudieuzere imposed the rule after a rash of incidents across France in which people dressed as clowns scared children in the streets, and in several cases attacked passersby. The town's website said the ban was "absolute" on Halloween, and that nobody aged 13 or older would be allowed to sport clown garb in the street through November.
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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.
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