France applies school mobile phone ban

It's the first day of the French school year and, as of today, mobile phones, smart watches and tablets are banned in all primary and junior high schools.This was one of the campaign pledges of President Emmanuel Macron.

Student mobile phone use in French schools faces a ban Flickr/Intel Free Press

High schools, taking students aged 15 to 18, will also be allowed to initiate partial or total bans as they reopen after the summer break, though they will not be obligatory.

Nearly 90 percent of French adolescents aged between 12 and 17 have a mobile phone.

Supporters hope the ban will help limit the spread of violent and pornographic content among children.

But critics have dismissed the ban as a public relations exercise and predicted it will be difficult to apply.