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French Village Seine-Port Wants To Ban People Strolling & Scrolling

The French village of Seine-Port bans the use of smartphones while strolling
The French village of Seine-Port bans the use of smartphones while strolling [Image by Pexels from Pixabay]
These days, it is common to see people strolling in the streets with their eyes and thumbs glued to their smartphones. Often they bump into other people as they are not looking where they are going. Moreover, youngsters are addicted to their phones and the picturesque French village of Seine-Port hopes to change this.

Keep your nose out of your smartphone when visiting Seine-Port in France

The small and picturesque village of Seine-Port in France only has a local population of around 2,000 people. It is located in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.

Meanwhile, the village recently held a mini-referendum to restrict the use of smartphones in public places.

According to the villagers, it is time to return to face-to-face communication. Rather spend your time greeting the friendly locals and viewing the village in real time. Moreover, they wish to wean the local children off their addiction to technology.

However, it is unclear whether the vote truly represented residents as only 277 people, a fifth of those on the electoral roll, voted. However, of those polled, 54 percent were in favor of the Screen-Free Charter.

For this reason, should you visit the quaint village, make sure to keep your phone in your pocket and walk phone-free.

Vincent Paul-Petit is the current mayor of Seine-Porte and is setting out the new guidelines. Among them, it recommends that phones and other tech devices should not be used while waiting at the school gates. Moreover, he hopes to ban the use of smartphones inside shops, in large gatherings or when strolling in the street.

No fines levied for smartphone use

As this was a local referendum, and no nationwide laws have been introduced to regulate smartphones, the police can do nothing. However, while no fines are payable, the village hopes to shame users going against the unofficial ban. Moreover, the charter is merely a guideline for limiting smartphone use and encouraging people to scroll less while strolling.

Many parents these days use technology to keep their children quiet. However, this is a bad idea – getting kids hooked on smartphones while they are toddlers has to have a bad effect. Seine-Port’s residents also support a charter on limiting smartphone use for children. Under the charter, there should be no screen time in the morning, in kids’ bedrooms, before bed, or during meals.

While youngsters aren’t impressed with the new unofficial ban, the town hall will provide them with what they term a “dumbphone.” This phone can only be used to make calls and will be provided to kids whose parents sign a written agreement. Under that agreement, mom and dad promise not to give their children a smartphone until they reach last least the age of 15.

Speaking to the media, Paul-Petit explained that it’s not about banning all phones, saying, “It’s about proposing that people abstain from getting out their smartphones to scroll through social media, play a game or watch a video in public places, which we want to preserve for social life.”

New activities for youngsters in Seine-Port

When youngsters in the village complained there is nothing for them to do in the village, the mayor promised them various activities including a film club, sports facilities and book exchanges.

Speaking to The Guardian, Nawel Deciron, 21, explained, “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.”

Fatiha, the mother of the history student and trainee teacher, said:

Parents are responsible and can deal with the issue of screens themselves.

Make sure to remember the new charter when visiting the charming village of Seine-Port in France. Also, make an effort to resolve the smartphone problems at home.

 

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