PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday announced plans to expand France’s existing mobile phone ban — currently applied in middle schools — to high schools beginning next academic year, citing growing concerns over student wellbeing and the impact of screen use on learning.
“We removed phones from middle schools. We will likely extend this to high schools next school year,” Macron said during a conversation with readers of the Ebra newspaper group in Mirecourt, located in the northeastern Vosges region. He added that Education Minister Edouard Geffray is “currently looking into this.”
Macron emphasised that schools must remain spaces dedicated to “learning” and “interaction,” noting a sharp rise in loneliness and mental-health issues among young people. Limiting phone use, he argued, is part of a broader effort to reconnect students with their classroom environment and reduce digital dependency.
Macron warns of ‘information war’
When asked about growing fears of foreign interference and political disinformation, Macron declined to offer what he called “empty reassurance,” insisting that the public must “keep a bit of concern” as France faces “a moment of major upheaval and uncertainty.”
“There is an information war being conducted by foreign powers,” he warned, without naming specific actors. The president said France must bolster its resilience and become stronger “militarily and technologically” to withstand emerging threats in the geopolitical arena.
Macron’s remarks come amid heightened debate in Europe over misinformation campaigns, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and the broader impact of social-media ecosystems on democratic processes.
