Villagers dressing up as clowns will run afoul of the law in southern France lest they change their costumes, government-run France 24 reports. The municipality of Vendargues in the country's Languedoc-Roussillon region has banned the jesters after "evil clowns" terrorized citizens in several incidents in recent weeks.

"Those wanting to dress as clowns for 'fairs or other public festivities' during this period will need express permission from the authorities to do so," the channel said.

The measure was aimed at preventing "any disruption ... by evil clowns," a representative from the Vendargues' mayor's office told Agence France-Presse. "It's about protecting children by preventing any ill-intentioned clowns from mixing with residents," the spokesperson added.

The ban is "absolute" on Friday night, Halloween, the Associated Press said. For citizens 13 and under, however, it will remain in effect throughout November.

The "evil clown" epidemic has led to more than a dozen arrests across the nation, France 24 said. Teenagers in costumes "wrought havoc on the streets, at times armed with pistols, knives or baseball bats," it added. In some cases, the pranks ended in assaults.

One of the pranks earned a 19-year-old a six-month suspended jail sentence last month. The youngster, dressed as a clown, had threatened passers-by in Béthune, a town in the northern Nord-Pas de Calais region. The attacks have become so widespread that they have triggered "anti-clown vigilantism," the news channel said.

The phenomenon is not unique to French culture, Time magazine noted, as clown attacks have occurred in the United States and the United Kingdom in the past. A year ago almost to the day, a "thug in a rainbow clown wig" attempted to attack a local police officer, the New York Post reported at the time. The incident developed into a violent scene, as well.

"The clown's pal punched the officer in the face," the Post said, "and the wig-wearing weirdo pulled a screwdriver and tried to hack the officer, according to sources."