France to ban mobile phones in secondary schools

The French government announced a complete ban on the use of mobile phones in secondary schools, saying the measure will come into force on 1 September.

The decision follows a law passed in July that included two main elements: a prohibition on access to social networks for children under 15 and a ban on mobile phones in secondary schools. Earlier this month France's Constitutional Council annulled the provision banning access to social networks for those under 15, while leaving unresolved the separate clause on phones in schools.

Background and political response

Government spokesperson Mod Bregeon said President Emmanuel Macron "has decided to promulgate the law" despite the Constitutional Council's decision on the social-media clause. "As a result, the ban on mobile phones in secondary schools can come into force from the beginning of the new school year, within a stable, coordinated and legally established framework," she told reporters after the cabinet meeting.

The presidential office added that Macron does not intend to abandon the broader initiative to restrict children’s access to applications such as TikTok, and that the government will prepare a new draft law. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, at the president's request, will work on a revised version of the bill, the spokesperson said.

Authorities in France and a growing number of other countries have recently been taking steps to limit young people's access to social media amid warnings about its harmful impact on children. The phone ban in schools forms part of President Macron’s wider effort to reduce the amount of time children spend in front of screens.

Photo: Olena Afanasova / Alamy / Alamy / Profimedia