France high school phone ban to start new term

France will put a mobile phone ban for high schools into effect from the start of the new school year, government spokesperson Maud Bregeon said on August 24.

Parliament approved legislation in July that included a high school phone ban and a ban on social media access for children under 15. The Constitutional Council struck down the social media provision earlier this month but did not rule on the separate high school phone measure.

Bregeon said President Emmanuel Macron had decided to promulgate the law despite the court's rejection of the social media provision. She said this allowed the phone ban to take effect with a stable statutory legal framework.

France already bars children from using mobile phones in primary schools and colleges, which are attended between ages 11 and 15. Macron's office has said he still wants restrictions on apps such as TikTok for children, and Bregeon said Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu would work on a new version of the social media legislation at Macron's request.

Bregeon said Macron wants a stable legal framework by next spring. Macron is due to step down then after serving the maximum two consecutive terms allowed in office.