PARIS — A French mayor has denounced the “anarchical settlement” of “Pokemon Go” characters on the “territory” of his eastern village and has ordered the game’s creator to remove the virtual creatures.

Bressolles Mayor Fabrice Beauvois said Tuesday that he has mailed a decree to California-based Niantic Inc. and The Pokemon Company to make sure they stop setting up Pokemons in the village of about 800 inhabitants northeast of Lyon.

In his decree, the mayor says the search for Pokemons puts pedestrians and drivers at risk because players get inattentive while watching their smartphones and that it may also result in groups of people forming at night.

Beauvois lamented the settlement of Pokemon characters on the “territory” of his village without Niantic asking for prior authorization.

“When a cafe or a restaurant owner wants to open a business in any French town, they have an obligation to request prior authorization to the mayor. The rule applies to all people wishing to set up an activity or occupy a space on a public property. So it applies to Niantic as well, even though their settlement is virtual,” Beauvois said.

Beauvois maintains the “Pokemon Go” phenomenon is spreading in a “contagious” way, that the game may lead to a “dangerous addiction” among young people and that it is his responsibility to ensure public tranquility and order.

“They (Niantic developers) use the entire planet as a playground,” he said.


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