More drivers face instant licence loss in France for phone use
500 licences already revoked as eighth department starts measure
A crackdown on phone use whilst driving has led to over 500 licence suspensions
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The Deux-Sèvres department has become the eighth department to suspend licences of those who use their phone whilst driving.
The prefecture confirmed to The Connexion that enforcement will be visible in the coming days. A roadside control operation targeting mobile phone use at the wheel is already scheduled for today, June 16, involving national police officers under the authority of the prefect’s office. The aim is to reinforce the new sanctions and deter dangerous behaviour.
The measure, introduced on June 15, was welcomed by Ms Alexandra Largeaud of Melioris Auto-École in the department.
“It’s unfortunate that it has come to this, but apparently that’s what it takes to sensitise people to the dangers,” she told The Connexion.
Ms Largeaud sees her students using their phones throughout the day: “Even in theory classes I see them checking their phones. When they are driving, it rings all the time.”
She believes the measure will help the department, as both inexperienced and young drivers underestimate the dangers of using a phone while driving.
Deux-Sèvres is now the latest department to implement the measure, with Landes, Oise, Lot-et-Garonne, Pas-de-Calais, Charente-Maritime, Ardèche and Vaucluse already doing so.
Since its adoption by these departments, more than 500 driving licences have been suspended, according to RMC radio. The Landes department, which was the first to introduce the measure at the end of 2025, accounts for most of these, with 400 licence suspensions to date.
Under French road traffic law, holding a phone while driving, wearing headphones, or touching a phone screen incurs an automatic €135 fine and a loss of three licence points.
In addition to these penalties, drivers caught using a phone can now face immediate licence suspension in the departments applying the new measures.
Guidance from the French road safety authority Sécurité Routière and local gendarmerie confirms that using a mobile phone as a sat nav is permitted, provided it is securely mounted and not handled while driving.
Drivers are advised to set routes before setting off and to pull over safely if adjustments are needed during a journey.
