Gendarmerie warn parents of new 'chilli pepper' game
Gendarmerie in Pas-de-Calais have warned parents of teenagers to be alert to a new online game spreading among young people: the “chilli pepper challenge”.
The game - which is just the latest in a series of potentially-dangerous, viral stunt-style challenges that spread online, including the parkour “train surfing” challenge, which led to the death of one young man in Paris last year - asks young people to bring very hot chillies into their school, and throw them into the eyes and mouths of other students, explains French news source 20Minutes.
Another part of the challenge involves squashing the chillies against one’s own skin (especially the cheeks), which, in extreme cases, can cause burns and other injuries.
Although no incidents have yet been reported in Pas-de-Calais due to the challenge, the gendarmerie is attempting to “act in prevention” against the threat, which it says is growing among young people as the challenge’s popularity spreads.
“This new challenge is slowly making itself known in playgrounds and on social networks,” explained the statement from the gendarmerie.
In contrast, in the Aube region, a headteacher was forced to send a letter home to students’ parents, after three pupils were burned by participating in the game, and had to be treated by the SAMU, and later checked in hospital.
