PARIS, France – French President Emmanuel Macron has formally promulgated legislation prohibiting mobile phones across all high schools (lycées) starting with the upcoming autumn term, enacting a key recommendation from the country’s national commission on screen exposure.
Announcing the measure on Monday, August 24, 2026, President Macron framed the nationwide restriction as an urgent pedagogical intervention designed to eliminate digital distractions and restore academic focus within secondary education.
“Protecting children from the excesses of screens can no longer wait,” Macron stated. “I have just promulgated the law aimed at banning mobile phones in high school starting this fall, a proposal from the screens commission. A school without phones means reclaiming the serenity of learning.”
Okay News reports that the enactment follows a ruling by France’s Constitutional Council, which struck down a separate flagship provision within the broader child protection bill that sought to impose a blanket ban on social media access for minors under 15. The constitutional court ruled that a blanket social media restriction placed disproportionate limits on freedom of expression and communication without adequate statutory safeguards.
Government spokesperson Maud Bregeon confirmed on Monday that while the social media clause was blocked, the high school mobile phone prohibition remains legally consolidated and will take effect immediately as students return to classrooms for the 2026–27 academic year. The measure expands upon France’s 2018 legislation that outlawed smartphone use in primary and middle schools (collèges).
Macron has directed Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu to collaborate with legal experts and lawmakers to draft a revised, constitutionally compliant social media regulation framework by spring 2027 to address cyberbullying and algorithmic risks before the conclusion of his presidential term.
