French lawmakers have introduced a ban on mobile phones in state schools, one of President Emmanuel Macron's campaign pledges which critics say will do little to counter classroom disruptions or limit cyberbullying, reports Radio France Internationale.
The issue has tapped into the anxiety among many parents over how to limit their children's screen time, especially in the wake of revelations about invasions of online privacy by technology companies.
Education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer called it "a law for the 21st century, a law for addressing the digital revolution".
"It's a signal to French society of the stakes for our society," he said in parliament. "Being open to technologies of the future doesn't mean we have to accept all their uses."
Nine of every 10 French students aged 12 to 17 owns a mobile phone, according to a 2016 survey.
Teachers complain of pupils sending text messages and chatting on social media during class time.
The law being proposed would require primary and junior high students to keep their phones in backpacks or otherwise out of sight.
Already roughly half of the country's 51,000 elementary schools and 7,000 junior high schools outlaw their use.
"We're not talking about a big bang, but we backed the legislative route because it reinforces the process," Philippe Vincent of the SNPDEN union of school directors told AFP ahead of the parliamentary vote.
But the law does not codify any specific punishment for their use, and lawyers have noted that teachers do not have the right to seize non-dangerous belongings from students.