Fighting the smartphone ‘invasion’: the French village that voted to ban scrolling in public
www.theguardian.com
Seine-Port is introducing restrictions on phone use in streets, shops and parks – but young people say there’s little else to do
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    A picture of a smartphone with a red line through it serves as a warning in the window of a hairdresser’s shop in a French village that has voted to ban people scrolling on their phones in public.

    “Everyone is struggling with too much screen time,” said Ludivine, a cardiology nurse, as she had her hair cut into a bob, leaving her phone out of sight in her bag.

    Seine-Port, in the Seine-et-Marne area south of Paris, with a population of fewer than 2,000 people, last weekend voted yes in a referendum to restrict smartphone use in public, banning adults and children from scrolling on their devices while walking down the street, while sitting with others on a park bench, while in shops, cafes or eating in restaurants and while parents wait for their children in front of the school gates.

    The mayor, Vincent Paul-Petit, of the rightwing party Les Républicains, will now write a municipal decree on smartphone use, the first of its kind in France.

    Emmanuel Macron said last month he would consult scientific experts to “determine the best use of screens” for young children, suggesting there could be bans or restrictions.

    “There’s not much else to do – if you ban phones, you’d have to put in place real structures for young people’s leisure, sports and games,” said Nawel Deciron, 21, a history student and trainee teacher.

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