French high schools rush to put Macron’s phone ban into force

Unions say ban will take time to enact, while president also wants under-15s social media ban as key legacy

French high schools are rushing to put in place a hurriedly signed off ban on mobile phones this week as Emmanuel Macron pushes for children to spend less time in front of screens.

Education unions warned that banning mobile phone use in lycées – where children are aged 15 to 18 – would be hard to implement quickly.