Fourth French prefecture introduces on-spot licence suspensions for drivers using mobile phones
Northern department becomes fourth to allow police to impose immediate bans for motorists caught using phones at wheel
Police are allowed to suspend licences on-the-spot for certain offences
Tero Vesalainen/Shutterstock
Harsher penalties against drivers using their mobile phones while at the wheel are becoming more common in France, with a northern prefecture becoming the latest to pass a decree to enable this.
Drivers in the Pas-de-Calais caught using their phone behind the wheel face an immediate two-month licence suspension.
The suspension comes alongside existing penalties such as a €135 fine and loss of three points from the licence.
It becomes the fourth department to pass a local decree of this kind, after Landes, Lot-et-Garonne and Charente-Maritime.
In addition to the licence suspension, the decree also doubles penalties for professional drivers, including increasing six-month suspensions for drunk-driving or driving at 50 km/h above the limit to a full year.
Why are departments implementing stricter rules?
The harsher penalties come in light of sustained road fatality statistics across France.
In Pas-de-Calais, 57 road fatalities were recorded in 2025, and nationwide deaths reached 3,260 according to early estimates from the Sécurité Routière, 2.1% higher than in 2024.
In addition, 244,000 injuries were recorded nationwide, 16,000 serious – a 3.4% and 4% increase respectively.
A large proportion of accidents were caused by drivers acting negligently, which includes mobile phone usage.
A 2025 study by insurance group Assurance Prévention/Calyxis estimates 400 people die annually in France due to drivers using mobile phones
French law allows for prefectoral authorities to apply additional regulations on top of standard penalties for certain driving offences.
Since 2020, law enforcement has been able to penalise drivers with on-the-spot licence suspension for certain offences.
