Phone use at wheel can now lead to licence suspension across France
Mobile phone use while driving can now trigger an administrative licence suspension anywhere in France, following nationwide instructions issued by Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez and Citizenship Minister Marie-Pierre Vedrenne on September 29.
The measure represents a significant escalation in enforcement, allowing prefects to suspend driving licences for phone use alone, even when no other traffic violation has occurred. Previously, more than a dozen departments had adopted this stricter approach individually, but application varied considerably across the country.
Nuñez, who took office as Interior Minister in October 2025 after serving as Prefect of Police of Paris, and Vedrenne instructed all prefects to apply Article L224-7 of the Code de la route, which grants administrative suspension powers but had not been rigorously enforced for single phone violations.
Suspension durations and existing penalties
According to Vedrenne, suspensions in departments already applying the measure typically last 15 days, though they can extend to one month and in certain cases up to six months. The decision is made by the prefecture rather than imposed directly by police or gendarmes at the roadside.
Standard penalties for hand-held phone use remain in force: a €135 fine and deduction of three points from the driving licence. The suspension operates as an additional administrative sanction.
Vedrenne told Le Figaro that consistent nationwide application was essential.
The use of the phone is no less dangerous depending on where you are. For a rule to be accepted, it must be clear, understandable and applied everywhere.
Pioneer departments demonstrate enforcement scale
Landes became the first department to introduce licence suspensions for phone use alone in November 2025. Since then, almost 350 licences have been suspended in the department, demonstrating the scale of enforcement under the stricter regime.
Other departments subsequently followed with varying approaches. Corrèze has imposed three-week suspensions on repeat offenders since September, while Drôme applies one-month suspensions even for first offences. The nationwide instruction eliminates these regional variations.
Data from Charente-Maritime underscores the severity of the problem: mobile phone use was involved in 15% of fatal accidents in the department in 2025, corresponding to seven deaths.
Mounting evidence of distraction risks
The tougher enforcement comes amid persistent prevalence of phone use while driving. In 2025, authorities recorded 695,360 offences for using a phone or earphones while driving, an increase of 6.7% compared to 2024, according to France's road safety observatory.
Broader data reveals the scale of distraction-related crashes. In 2024, distracted attention was a contributing factor in 13% of fatal crashes in France. A year earlier, inattention including phone use and other digital distractions played a role in 24% of all injury accidents, resulting in 390 deaths.
The observatory states that using a phone while driving triples accident risk, while reading a message increases the risk 23-fold. France recorded 3,515 road deaths in 2025.
Insurance industry research suggests the behavior remains widespread despite known dangers. According to the AXA Barometer 2024, 80% of French car drivers and 67% of motorcyclists admit to using their smartphone while on the road.
Permitted phone use for navigation
Drivers may still use their phone as a GPS device, provided it is securely mounted in a suitable holder and is not handled while the vehicle is moving. They should not pick up the device to change destinations, read messages or adjust routes while driving.
On motorways, drivers must stop at a service area before handling their phone. Elsewhere, they should find a safe location to stop before touching the device.
Broader enforcement strategy
The licence suspension measure forms part of a wider enforcement strategy. France is advancing plans for a virtual points system for drivers with foreign licences, originally passed into law nine years ago but only now being widely implemented. The system is expected to become operational around 2028.
Technological measures complement legal enforcement. From July 2024, new cars in the EU are required to have Advanced Driver Distraction Warning systems under EU General Safety Regulation. These systems use cameras to detect when drivers look away from the road for extended periods.
