Departments in south-west France introduce tougher penalties for mobile phone usage when driving
Measure comes after record numbers of drivers caught using phones on the road
More than 100 accidents in the Lot-et-Garonne department were attributed to driver ‘inattention’ last year, which includes mobile phone usage behind the wheel
Dusan Petkovic / Shutterstock
Departments in south-west France are introducing tougher penalties for drivers caught using mobile phones while driving.
The move comes as cases of drivers caught breaking the rules reached record levels in 2025, as did the number of accidents caused by inattentive drivers.
From February 2026, drivers in the Lot-et-Garonne department found using mobile phones while driving will face a six-month licence suspension and a €135 fine issued directly by the prefecture, in addition to other penalties applied at national level elsewhere.
The suspension will be carried out with immediate effect.
A major awareness campaign will take place in January to alert drivers of the new rules, said the prefecture in a press conference announcing the changes, before their implementation on February 1.
Lot-et-Garonne follows the Landes department in implementing the rules.
Landes became the first department to introduce such regulations in November 2025, following warnings earlier in the year that it would do so if drivers continued to use their phones.
Prefectoral authorities are entitled to apply additional regulations, on top of standard penalties – an automatic loss of three points and possible licence suspension for up to three years.
Based on how the new penalties affect road accident statistics in the two departments, it is possible that the measures could become widespread across France.
Record cases of phone usage and accidents in south-west
The implementation of the new rules is among the final actions of outgoing Lot-et-Garonne prefect Daniel Barnier.
He cited 2025 driving statistics as behind the move.
The department recorded more than 4,975 drivers caught using their mobile phones, based on data up to December 21, meaning the annual tally is slightly higher.
This exceeds the figure for 2024 (4,970) and is far above the total recorded in 2022 (3,890).
Similarly, the number of accidents caused due to driver ‘inattention’ – including mobile phone usage – increased to 102 in 2025, up from 80 in 2024 and 75 in 2023.
These accidents resulted in two deaths and 131 injuries in 2025, representing a significant proportion of the department’s overall road fatalities, recorded as 25 for the period January 1 to November (full calendar year data not yet published).
