Latest news with #France2
The Hindu
8 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
France eyes social media ban for under-15s after school stabbing
French authorities have announced plans to ban social media for under-15s and the sale of knives to minors after the murder of a teaching assistant by a 14-year-old boy plunged the country into shock. A secondary school pupil was arrested on Tuesday (June 10, 2025) after killing a 31-year-old school assistant with a knife during a bag search in Nogent in eastern France. Friends and well-wishers left flowers and messages of support in front of the secondary school struck by the tragedy. "We share your pain," read one message. Laurence Raclot, who knew the teaching assistant, Melanie, said she was "stunned". "She was great with kids," Ms. Raclot said. "In a quiet little town, we never would have thought this could happen." A former hairdresser, Melanie had retrained and worked at the school since September. She was the mother of a four-year-old boy and a councillor in a village near Nogent. "There are no words," added another local, Sabrina Renault. "It's really sad for her whole family, for that little boy who's left without his mum." Pupils and parents were seen entering and leaving the school, where a psychological support unit has been set up. The suspect will remain in police custody for a further 24 hours, until Thursday (June 12, 2025) morning, a police source told AFP on Wednesday (June 11, 2025). Little information has been released about his motive. 'Cannot wait' In the wake of the attack, authorities promised a raft of measures to tackle knife crime among children. "I am proposing banning social media for children under 15," President Emmanuel Macron said on X on Tuesday (June 10, 2025) evening. "Platforms have the ability to verify age. Let's do it," he added. Backed by France and Spain, Greece has spearheaded a proposal for how the EU should limit children's use of online platforms as evidence shows that social media can have negative effects on children's mental and physical health. Mr. Macron said on Tuesday (June 10, 2025) that if no progress was made within several months, then France would go ahead with the ban unilaterally. "We cannot wait," he told broadcaster France 2. France has in recent years seen several attacks on teachers and pupils by other schoolchildren. In March, police started random searches for knives and other weapons concealed in bags at and around schools. On Wednesday (June 11, 2025), Prime Minister Francois Bayrou's office said a ban on the sale of knives to minors will be implemented by a decree issued within the next two weeks. Speaking to broadcaster TF1 on Tuesday (June 10, 2025) evening, Mr. Bayrou said that the measure would come into force 'immediately'. 'The list will include 'any knife that can be used as a weapon', he said. He also said parents and educators should be watching for "signs that a teenager is not doing well", while acknowledging that there was a shortage of psychologists. Mr. Bayrou has also called for a trial of metal detectors in schools. Education Minister Elisabeth Borne called for a minute's silence to be held in all French schools at midday on Thursday to honour the memory of the teaching assistant. "The entire educational community is in shock, as is the whole nation," she told France Inter radio on Wednesday (June 11, 2025). Ms. Borne said she was "open to anything" to improve safety, but added that ceramic blades would be invisible to metal detectors. She also said that young people should be protected from "overexposure to screens". But trade unions said they were not sure how these proposals would be implemented and enforced. "Teaching assistants have primarily educational duties within the school environment," said Sophie Venetitay, general secretary of the SNES-FSU teachers' union. But, she added, "little by little, we have seen attempts to turn them into security guards." Remy Reynaud of the CGT Educ'action union criticised the government's decision to introduce bag searches outside schools. "They increase tensions," he said. "School management is pressuring teaching assistants to participate in the searches, which is not part of their duties," she added.
Time of India
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Emmanuel Macron urges EU to ban social media for under-15s after school stabbing in eastern France; here's what we know
French President Emmanuel Macron has announced plans to press the European Union for a regulation that would ban social media access for children under 15 years old. His push follows a deadly incident at a middle school in eastern France, where a 14-year-old student allegedly stabbed a 31-year-old school aide during a bag search for weapons. Speaking to France 2 on Tuesday, Macron said he expects progress within months. 'If that does not work, we will start to do it in France. We cannot wait,' he said, stressing the urgency of the situation following the latest attack at a school in Nogent, Haute-Marne. Violence in schools prompts political urgency The fatal stabbing has reignited debate about youth violence and school safety in France. Prime Minister Francois Bayrou addressed the matter in parliament, describing the attack as part of a wider pattern of similar incidents. Police have questioned a 14-year-old in connection with the stabbing, which occurred during a routine bag search. Macron has linked rising aggression among teenagers to social media influence. He pointed to platforms' ability to verify user ages but noted that enforcement remains weak. Macron urges tech platforms to verify age of users Macron continued his stance on social media accountability via a post on X (formerly Twitter), where he wrote: 'Platforms have the ability to verify age. Do it.' He cited expert support for age-based restrictions and emphasized that the responsibility lies with major tech platforms to implement and enforce these controls. Although many platforms officially restrict users under 13, enforcement is minimal and bypassing age checks is reportedly easy. Macron's remarks aim to put pressure on both European regulators and tech companies. Australia's precedent adds global momentum Macron's comments come as global interest in regulating youth access to social media intensifies. Australia passed a law last year banning access to social media for children under 16. The decision followed public debate and set a precedent as one of the strictest regulatory frameworks against Big Tech's influence on children. France may follow suit if EU-wide action is not forthcoming, Macron warned. The growing consensus among global leaders suggests a shift towards tighter controls on digital access for minors in response to rising safety concerns.
LBCI
10 hours ago
- Politics
- LBCI
Macron to push for social media ban for under-15s after school stabbing
French President Emmanuel Macron said he would push for European Union regulation to ban social media for children under the age of 15 after a fatal stabbing at a school in eastern France, the latest such violent attack that left the country reeling. Macron said in an interview late on Tuesday that he hoped to see results within the next few months. "If that does not work, we will start to do it in France. We cannot wait," he told the France 2 public broadcaster, hours after a fatal stabbing at a middle school in Nogent, Haute-Marne. Writing on social media platform X after the interview, Macron said such regulation was backed by experts. "Platforms have the ability to verify age. Do it," he wrote. Reuters
LeMonde
10 hours ago
- Business
- LeMonde
Macron defends former minister now lobbying for Shein
Emmanuel Macron found himself facing his own contradictions on Tuesday, June 10, during the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice. In an interview of more than two hours on France 2, the president tried to defend his environmental record, but was challenged when the case of one of his close allies, Christophe Castaner, was raised. The former interior minister was recently hired by Shein, a company criticized in debates about fast fashion. "What you're doing is kind of lame," Macron snapped back, accusing the journalist Hugo Clément of wanting to "pillory" Castaner. While Macron highlighted a "45% increase over 15 years" in clothing consumption in France and called on the French to adopt "responsible behavior" because "we all have a role to play" in the fight against climate change, Clément pressed him about "the responsibility of politicians" and, more specifically, about Castaner. The former minister (2017-2020), 59, was recruited in 2024 by Shein as a strategic adviser, among other high-profile figures, to lead lobbying efforts on behalf of the brand in France at a time when Parliament is debating a bill aimed at curbing the rise of fast fashion, which threatens Shein's interests. "He is now a free man," Macron said in his defense, adding that he had not discussed the situation with Castaner. "It's his life, not mine," Macron shrugged off. "Just because he's at Shein doesn't mean that will change anything about the matter."
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Macron threatens to bypass EU on social media ban
Emmanuel Macron has vowed to ban social media for children under the age of 15 after a fatal school stabbing. France, along with Greece, is leading the way in cracking down on social media platforms in Europe, passing a 2023 law requiring them to obtain parental consent for users under the age of 15. The measure, however, has not received the European Union (EU) green light that it needs to come into force. In an interview late on Tuesday, Mr Macron said: 'I'm giving us a few months to get European support.' 'If that doesn't work, I will negotiate with the Europeans so that we can start doing it in France. We can't wait,' he told the France 2 public broadcaster, hours after a fatal stabbing by a 14-year-old at a middle school in Nogent, Haute-Marne. Mr Macron's call comes as France appears on a collision course with Donald Trump, the US president, over restrictions on applications run by American tech giants, albeit in the name of child protection. The Trump administration has already slammed EU tech laws as 'overseas extortion'. The call for the ban comes as police questioned a 14-year-old student on Tuesday over the stabbing of a 31-year-old school assistant during a bag search for weapons. Francois Bayrou, the French prime minister, told parliament the incident was not an isolated case and that he intended to reinforce a ban on the sale of all types of knives to minors and experiment with security gates outside schools. The Left has called for more assistants able to detect and help pupils with psychological issues, while the Right has accused Mr Macron of failing to secure educational establishments. However, the stabbing of Mélanie G, as French media are calling her, took place during a bag check by gendarmes at the school. The assistant was not taking part in the check. Anne-Marie Nedelec, a local official in Nogent and a senator, pointed the finger at social media and the internet. 'We've already banned mobile phones in secondary schools, but we need to go much further. We all know that there are platforms that constantly broadcast violence, pornography, calls for murder, calls to commit suicide, and so on. This has to stop,' she told France Inter. 'Our teenagers are living in a virtual world where people slit each other's throats, kill each other, come back to life, and then kill themselves again, but the problem is that here in real life, we don't come back to life. And Mélanie is dead, dead for good.' Mr Macron said social media was one of the factors to blame for violence among young people. France, along with Greece, Denmark and Spain, has led the way in pushing the EU to force platforms to verify the age of users when they create an account on apps such as Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat. Writing on social media platform X, Mr Macron said such regulation was backed by experts. 'Platforms have the ability to verify age. Do it,' he wrote. France has also followed the UK and the Netherlands this week in allowing Netflix sensation Adolescence, which highlighted some of the harmful content children view online, to be used in secondary schools to teach teenagers about toxic masculinity. The Macron government, a long-time ally of big tech, has in recent years moved to regulate social media apps more stringently. That has exacerbated tensions with the Trump administration, which is ramping up attacks on Europe's digital rules, along with the threat of trade sanctions. Last month, the US state department sent a request to its offices around Europe seeking 'examples of government efforts to limit freedom of speech', according to The Wall Street Journal. The US 'is committed to shutting down the global censorship-industrial complex', it wrote. Internal instructions cite as guidance a speech JD Vance, the US vice-president, gave in Munich earlier this year, in which he accused EU 'commissars' of censorship. It cited US diplomats as warning the country 'will take steps to ensure that American companies are not strong-armed into enforcing a European censorship regime that is harmful to American interests, European interests, and the world'. The EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), adopted in 2022, regulates European activities of the world's largest digital platforms, many of which are American. The DSA requires platforms to show they are taking steps to address certain risks, including the spread of illegal content and the use of disinformation to manipulate election results. Darren Beattie, the acting undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, told the Wall Street Journal: 'Obviously, we don't love the idea of the Europeans censoring their own citizens, but the principal concern is these spillover effects affecting content-moderation policies and a variety of free speech concerns within the United States. 'And there are various mechanisms within the DSA that are concerning in that regard.' EU officials say the law, which only applies in the EU, doesn't threaten free speech and is designed to protect Europeans' basic rights and to help keep children safe online. 'The DSA is absolutely not a censorship tool,' said Thomas Regnier, spokesman for the European Commission. 'To the contrary, freedom of expression is at the heart of the DSA.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
