Macron confirms school mobile phone ban effective from new term

Published on 24/08/2026 - 16:03 GMT+2

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Mobile phones will indeed be banned in all high schools nationwide from the start of the new school year. Government spokesperson Maud Bregeon on Monday confirmed President Emmanuel Macron's decision to enact the law containing this measure: "The ban on mobile phones in high schools has been approved by the Constitutional Council. So the President of the Republic has decided to enact the law that was partially struck down, without the articles that were ruled unconstitutional, of course, in order to apply, within a stabilised legal framework, the tools that have already been validated. Put simply, the ban on mobile phones in high schools can take effect as of the new school year, under a stable, consolidated legislative framework."

Exceptions may be introduced to allow educational uses or to accommodate certain administrative needs, as well as for students enrolled in courses taught in high schools, for instance preparatory classes for entrance exams to France's elite grandes écoles.

This implementation will, however, go ahead without the ban on social networks for under-15s, which was struck down by the Constitutional Council earlier this month. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has already announced a new version of the text that would take into account the comments made by the state's highest legal authority.