Won’t someone think of the children? The French education minister does because that’s kinda her whole job. As the AP reports, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem explained to a group of Paris journalists that she’s concerned not that kids will whip out their phones to play Pokemon Go during class but that legendary characters on campus pose “the greatest security risk of unwanted walk-ins by strangers” — in other words, that weirdos might do weirdo things trying to get into schools to catch ’em all.
Over here on the outskirts of a big city in the US, my kid starts kindergarten next week and has to pass through what amounts to a guarded, sealed off, airlock configuration just to get in, so maybe this is a much more pressing problem in France (especially given that country’s recent history) for folks to be worried about this. But then again, I wouldn’t want creepers hovering around a playground for five-year-olds either.
Vallaud-Belkacem did say that people, including school principles, can already petition Niantic to remove their school from the greater Pokemap (here’s that form), but she’s meeting with Niantic reps proactively anyway.
