As part of a measure originally announced as part of Emmanuel Macron's campaign program, mobile phones will be banned in junior, primary and middle schools in France from the start of the 2018 school year.
Minister of National Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, announced the news in a press conference on 10 December.
For parents who may be concerned about their children being able to have phone access in case of emergencies, he said, "We are working on this issue, it can take different forms."
"You may need it for educational purposes, for emergency situations, so cell phones must be confined. "
Many teachers are alarmed by the "scourge" and the "endless war" of mobile phones at school.
More than 80 per cent of teenagers in France were equipped with smartphones, according to a 2015 Credoc study, compared to 20 per cent in 2011.
And the trend is towards primary school, where students start to get it sometimes from the fourth grade onwards. Especially when they go to school alone, because it reassures parents to be able to reach their children at any time.
The implementation of this measure is expected to be complicated.
The code of education already outlaws the use of mobile phones in schools during classes.
The prohibition in the playground and during recess leaves unions of teachers dubious, part of the concern is in regard to the choice of parents, who want to be able to connect with their child after classes. Teachers are also concerned about the more practical constraints of employees having to spend their time searching the students' bags.
As reported in Le Monde, outside one middle school in Metz, the students all had their mobiles in their hands. A group of girlfriends said however that they never use their phone in class "except to watch the time or sometimes we take it out before the class ends."
And in the playground, it's just "to listen to music, go on social networks, but we also discuss between us, in real life."
Of course, the prohibition sought by the minister to avoid the "dispersion" of students annoys them, especially as they say, "it will serve no purpose."
Indika, another student, is sure that the supervisors can not control each student: "There is nothing that forces someone to give his phone when arriving at college, we can very well hide it!"
Moreover, according to the law, the staff of a school are not allowed to search the pupils.
