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12h ago

France Generalizes Temporary Licence Suspensions for Phone Use While Driving

Ministers say the move seeks to reduce rising road deaths by making licence suspension for holding or using a phone a uniform administrative sanction across all départments.

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Téléphone au volant
De gauche à droite, la ministre déléguée à l’Intérieur Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, le ministre de l’Intérieur Laurent Nuñez et le préfet du Val-d’Oise Philippe Court, à la gendarmerie de Domont, le 31 décembre 2025.
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Overview

  • The Interior Ministry sent an instruction on September 29 asking all departmental prefects to apply temporary administrative suspensions of driving licences for holding or using a mobile phone while driving.
  • Prefects will decide and notify suspensions case by case with typical durations of about 15 days and possible penalties ranging from one month up to six months in some situations.
  • The measure applies even when no other traffic offence is recorded and does not replace existing penalties, which still include a €135 fine and a three-point deduction on the licence.
  • Officials cite pilots in several départements that led to several hundred suspensions and a reported 12% drop in observed phone use in Landes, along with 2025 data showing 3,515 road deaths and 695,360 phone-related infractions.
  • Ministers say the policy is aimed at ordinary drivers rather than only repeat offenders and could change everyday behaviour, though prefectural discretion in application means local outcomes and impacts on commuters will vary.