France bans the use of smartphones in schools for students up to 15 years old starting in September
PARIS, France - French schoolchildren will have to leave their smartphones switched off or at home as the new academic year begins in September, after lawmakers voted for a ban on Monday.
Context & Ripple Effects
This vote converts a promise into policy: the French government had already signaled the move in December with a plan covering primary through middle schools for ages 6-15 (the December 2017 proposal), and Monday's parliamentary vote locks in a September start. Students up to 15 must keep phones switched off or leave them at home.
The ban also marks the opening move in a longer French sequence — from devices in classrooms toward platforms themselves — that later runs through Macron's pledge to bar under-15s from social media and ultimately France's first-in-Europe under-15 social media access law.
First-order effects
- Schoolchildren up to 15 and their schools face an immediate compliance change from September: phones off or left at home during the school day.
Second-order effects
- The French vote gives other legislatures a working template — South Korean lawmakers later pass a nationwide classroom device ban for elementary and middle schools (the 2025 Korean bill), and UNESCO's call for a global school smartphone ban cites performance and disruption concerns.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, device-level school rules escalate into platform-level age regulation: France's trajectory runs from banning phones in classrooms to barring under-15s from social media outright, making age verification a structural requirement rather than a school policy choice.
The trend: Governments are escalating from restricting smartphones in schools to regulating minors' access to digital platforms themselves, with France setting the legislative pace.