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Phone ban promulgated
France moved to ban mobile phone use in high schools from the start of the new school year after President Emmanuel Macron decided to promulgate the law, with government spokesperson Maud Bregeon saying it “can take effect as soon as the new school year begins, i.e., next week.”
“it can take effect as soon as the new school year begins, i.e., next week.”
The measure is set against a backdrop where the Constitutional Court struck down the ban on social networks for anyone under fifteen, while the Constitutional Council did not rule on the separate provision banning mobile phone use in high schools.
In Île-de-France and elsewhere, high school students are being asked to stow away their smartphones, following the model already in use at elementary and middle schools since 2018.
Bregeon said the government’s position is that the ban “can take effect from the beginning of the new school year” under what she described as a “clear, stable and legally defined framework.”
Readiness and internal rules
Even with promulgation on August 24, 2026, multiple outlets reported doubts about whether schools can implement the rule immediately, because establishments must amend their internal regulations.
Le Monde reported that “institutions are not ready,” quoting François Resnais, national secretary of SNPDEN-UNSA, who denounced a “bad timing.”
The same implementation challenge was described by France 24, which said that to apply the ban, establishments must amend their internal regulations and consult bodies including “the council of delegates for high school life and the board of directors.”
Ouest-France similarly said that many high schools were not able to carry out the procedure before the start of the school year because establishments remained closed during the summer holidays, leaving the rule “very patchy.”
Sanctions and next steps
As the phone ban is extended to high schools, CNews said students who violate it will face sanctions ranging from “simple confiscation to disciplinary proceedings,” with the sanction tailored “to each situation.”
“Students who violate this ban will face sanctions ranging from simple confiscation to disciplinary proceedings.”
CNews also cited Article L.511-5 of the Education Code, stating that “the confiscation of a mobile phone or another connected object belonging to a student cannot exceed the duration of the day’s teaching activities.”
While the phone ban proceeds, the government is still revising the social-media part of the law after the Constitutional Council’s mid-August ruling, with Maud Bregeon saying Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu will “reflect” on a new redrafting that “takes into account the Constitutional Council’s comments.”
In parallel, multiple outlets tied the policy to protecting minors from screen risks, with Macron writing on X that “Protecting children from the excesses of screens can no longer wait,” as the government aims for a stabilized framework by next spring.