French high schools are moving quickly to implement a mobile phone ban starting September 1, as part of President Emmanuel Macron’s broader effort to reduce screen time for children. This new policy targets lycées, where students aged 15 to 18 study, extending restrictions previously applied to younger pupils in primary schools and collèges (middle schools), which cater to children aged 11 to 15.

The government argues that excessive screen use is detrimental to children’s development and is therefore focusing on limiting mobile phone access among older teenagers during school hours. However, education unions and school officials have expressed concerns over the practicality of enforcing the ban immediately. Jérôme Fournier, national secretary of the SE-Unsa trade union, emphasized that schools must amend their internal regulations to comply, a process that entails consultation and voting, including involving the students themselves.

Fournier noted additional complications, such as students’ reliance on smartphones for school-related activities, including accessing timetables, locating classrooms, tracking homework, and even using digital apps as entry passes for the canteen or library. He also highlighted that many high schools host students engaged in higher education courses or apprenticeships who may be older than 18 and require phones for professional purposes.

The implementation details remain undecided, including whether the ban will apply to the entire school premises or if exceptions will be made in areas such as playgrounds. Fournier warned that students might leave school grounds to use their phones, raising safety and security concerns. He also stressed the importance of treating older teenagers as pre-adults, particularly as some are eligible to vote in the upcoming presidential election, and advocated for their inclusion in the decision-making process.

This phone ban follows Macron’s earlier attempt to legislate a social media ban for children under 15 using platforms such as TikTok and Snapchat. That measure was recently struck down by France’s constitutional council due to concerns over its vague definition of social media, which risked encompassing websites not typically categorized as such, potentially infringing on freedom of expression. The court further questioned the privacy implications of implementing an age verification system for all users.

Despite these setbacks, Macron’s office confirmed that the government intends to redraft the social media law with the aim of passing it before the president’s term ends next spring. Legal experts, including Valère Ndior, a law professor at the University of Western Brittany, have expressed skepticism about finding a balance between French constitutional law and European regulations, suggesting that rewriting the law will present ongoing challenges.