Macron backs push to ban cell phones in French high schools

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that high school students would “likely” be banned from using cell phones in school starting next year.

Pupils in primary schools and collège, France’s equivalent of middle school for many anglophone countries, are already barred from using cell phones in schools.

During an event organized by a regional newspaper group in eastern France, Macron said the first phase of the ban had worked “rather well” and expressed his support for extending the policy to lycées, the final stage of French secondary education, where students are typically ages 15 to 18.

The French president said Education Minister Édouard Geffray is reviewing the idea.

However, outlawing phones in lycée may require new lawmakers to pass new legislation. The French National Assembly voted in favor of the current ban in 2018, but that law only explicitly covers the French equivalents of preschool, kindergarten, primary school and middle school.

Macron’s influence on domestic politics has waned after losing control of parliament in 2024, but the president has in recent weeks attempted to reemerge on the domestic stage with a series of appearances devoted to how he intends to take on challenges posed by social media and large online platforms.