Cartoon characters parading down the streets are usually synonymous with childhood glee, theme parks and carnival floats. But as French daily Le Parisien reports, recent encounters with the beloved icons such as Mickey Mouse or Winnie the Pooh have been followed by calls to the police in eastern France.
Since last month, multiple reports to authorities and posts on social media have warned that at least four men wearing Disney costumes were busy swindling, catcalling and groping passers-by in the city centers of Strasbourg and Mulhouse.
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According to France 3 Régions, the men, believed to be in their 40s, approached people — often teenage girls — offering to take pictures with them and demanding money, before touching them inappropriately.
As Le Parisien reports, a since deleted video posted on Instagram recently showed several individuals beating up one of the costumed men after he harassed a passer-by.
