Children under 15 in France are no longer allowed to use their smartphones in school thanks to a new policy that began at the beginning of this school year (2017/18). The country's education minister Jean-Michel Blanque says that mobile phones have been prohibited not only in classrooms, but at breaks, lunchtimes and between lessons as well. In explaining the policy he said: “These days, the children don’t play at break time anymore. They are all just in front of their smartphones, and from an educational point of view, that’s a problem.” He went on to say that this is a bid to establish a “healthier relationship with technology”. The minister sees the ban as a way of protecting the mental health of students in an age when a staggering 93% of 12 to 17 year-olds in France own a mobile phone. He also hopes that the move will contribute to a reduction in cyberbullying.