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POKEMON

Thousands hunt Pokémon Go in Madrid to break record

It may only have been officially launched in Spain two weeks ago but already Pokémon Go already has so many fans here that Madrid set a world record.

Thousands hunt Pokémon Go in Madrid to break record
Pokémon fans gather in Madrid's Puerta del Sol. Photo: AFP

On Thursday more than 3,000 players met up in the capital’s Puerta del Sol from 7pm to participate in the biggest Pokémon hunt the world has ever seen.

Oganisers estimated that up to 5,000 players descended on the square to catch Pokémon together and fight other players, easily beating the record previously held by Sydney, Australia.


Photo: AFP

The meeting was originally planned for the Retiro park, but city authorities denied authorization for a large gathering in what it said was a “protected environmental space”.


Photo: AFP

Instead, organizers set up mobile charging stations and distributed free water as temperatures topped 38 C.

City parks and tourist sites have been inundated with crowds glued to their smart phones as they play the latest craze.


Photo: AFP

Spanish police have even released guidelines in an attempt to limit accidents by those to immersed in the virtual reality game to pay proper attention to their surroundings.

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POKEMON

French mayor bans Pokemon Go app from his village

Bressolles, a small village almost smack bang in the middle of France, has become the first in France to try and ban the new gaming sensation Pokemon Go.

French mayor bans Pokemon Go app from his village
Photo: AFP
The mayor of Bressolles, Fabrice Beauvois, believes Pokemon Go is simply too much of a threat to his 800-strong community. 
 
He made headlines on Wednesday after signing a municipal decree to ban the game, and he reportedly contacted the game's producer Niantic in an effort to get the village wiped off the Pokemon map, reported Le Progres newspaper
 
Beauvois said that the game caused “too much distraction for pedestrians and for motorists who are looking at their phones while driving”.
 
He said that he believed it was his duty to prevent what he called “a contagious and uncontrolled spread of the phenomenon”, not to mention that it is “dangerously addictive” for young people.
 
He also called for people to form evening groups in a bid to help prevent people from playing the game. 
 
 
While such a ban might be hard to enforce without the help of Niantic, the mayor is not wrong to think the game can be dangerous.

Indeed, France has already seen several accidents involving motorists and Pokemon. 
 
In July France saw at least two car accidents because of the game. And some teens were arrested in southern France for bursting into a police barracks trying to hunt Pokemon
 
And while no village or town in France has managed to ban the game yet, it has been banned from certain sites. 
 
Earlier this month, a French World War I memorial was removed from Pokemon Go following complaints about players gathering to do battle at a site containing the remains of 130,000 soldiers.
 
Elsewhere, authorities in Iran banned the app over unspecified “security concerns”, with the Pentagon in the US urging its troops to avoid the game too.
 
French teens storm police barracks in hunt for PokemonPhoto: AFP
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