France Bans Mobile Phones in Primary Schools

The French Parliament on Monday finally approved the ban on the use of mobile phones in primary schools, which was a campaign promise of President Emmanuel Macron that the opposition calls “cosmetic,” writes Vanguard.

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Members of Macron’s party, La République En Marche (REM), which holds the majority, and centrist representatives voted for the text in the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, while the right and left were abstained, calling it a “communication operation,” a “political advertisement,” and a “special law” that “will change nothing.”

The draft law prohibits the use of any device with internet connectivity capabilities, such as mobile phones and tablets, in primary schools attended by children up to 14 or 15 years old in France.

Exceptions are, of course, the use of these devices “for educational purposes,” which will be decided by each school institution through its internal regulations, and the use of such devices for children with special needs. The law will also apply to extracurricular activities such as sports.

Secondary schools may, but are not required to, ban mobile phones and other devices with internet connectivity capabilities, either completely or partially.

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French education law already prohibits, based on a law from 2010, mobile phones “during lessons and in places designated by internal regulations.”