France to suspend driving licences of motorists caught on phones

Since 2025, France has been running a pilot scheme in certain areas, where drivers caught using a phone behind the wheel face a short-term suspension of their licence.

Now, the sanction is set to be rolled out across the country.

The Interior Ministry told French media Le Figaro that Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez and Minister of State for the Interior Marie-Pierre Vedrenne instructed authorities across France to suspend the licences of drivers caught using a handheld mobile phone while driving.

📵 Téléphone au volant : nous renforçons la réponse pour protéger les vies sur nos routes. Avec @NunezLaurent, nous généralisons sur l’ensemble du territoire la possibilité de prononcer une suspension administrative du permis de conduire pour le seul usage du téléphone au volant, dans le cadre prévu par le Code de la route. Pourquoi agir ? Parce que le téléphone au volant s’est installé dans nos habitudes alors qu’il reste l’un des comportements les plus dangereux sur la route. 📱 80 % des usagers reconnaissent utiliser leur téléphone au volant. ⚠️ Son usage multiplie par trois le risque d’accident. 🚗 Et alors que la mortalité routière ne recule plus suffisamment, nous devons nous attaquer aux comportements qui mettent directement en danger les autres. Cette mesure repose sur une conviction simple : prendre le volant, c’est accepter une responsabilité envers les autres. Un conducteur qui consulte son téléphone ne met pas seulement sa propre vie en danger : il peut, en une seconde, bouleverser celle d’une famille entière. La réponse doit être ferme, lisible et proportionnée. Il ne s’agit pas de sanctionner pour sanctionner. Il s’agit de faire comprendre que certains comportements ne peuvent plus être considérés comme anodins et de faire évoluer durablement les pratiques. Sur la route, quelques secondes d’inattention peuvent coûter une vie. Aucun SMS, aucun appel, aucune notification ne les vaut. Protéger les Français sur les routes, c’est aussi cela : faire respecter des règles qui sauvent des vies.

— Marie-Pierre Vedrenne (@MariePierreV) October 3, 2026

The length of the suspension will be decided by the relevant préfecture and can range from 15 days to six months, depending on the circumstances and the driver’s record.

The suspension is an administrative measure, which means that the driver does not have to take a test at the end of the ban in order to get their licence back.

The new measure does not change the law – which already made it illegal to use a handheld mobile phone while driving.

This covers any use of the phone, including making or receiving a call, messaging, looking something up on the internet or photographing/filming with your phone. Making or receiving a call using a hands-free kit which connects to the car’s speakers is allowed.

In addition to the widespread introduction of temporary licence suspensions, a €135 fine and the deduction of three points from your driver’s licence will still apply in cases of using a mobile phone while driving.

Why is France tightening the rules?

The government said the tougher approach is intended to reduce road accidents caused by driver distraction.

France’s road safety authority, Sécurité routière, describes smartphones as particularly dangerous because they combine four different types of distraction: visual, cognitive, auditory and physical.

“Reading a message while driving increases the risk of an accident by a factor of 23 as it forces the driver to take their eyes off the road for an average of five seconds”, Sécurité routière’s website states.

In 2024, in France, driver inattention was responsible for 24 percent of accidents resulting in personal injury, claiming the lives of nearly 419 people.

The licence suspension scheme has already been operating in other French départements: Pas-de-Calais, Lot-et-Garonne, Landes and Charente-Maritime. 

In the Landes département, where the scheme started in November 2025, around 300 driving licences were suspended during its first three months, while the use of mobile phones behind the wheel fell by 12 percent according to the the minister. 

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