Cyberbullying in France

Cyberbullying — a French parent’s field guide.

Country-specific advice that covers what schools in France must do, the trusted helplines, the law-enforcement route, and the email script that works for talking to your child’s school.

Get early access General cyberbullying guide

The France context

Where the law and school policy stand today.

France passed Law n°2022-300 of February 2, 2022 creating the criminal offence of school harassment, including online harassment, with penalties up to 10 years if it leads to suicide. The Arcom regulator has jurisdiction over major platforms’ minor-protection duties.

Scale: About 1 in 4 French middle-school students report having experienced cyberbullying, per Ministère de l’Éducation surveys. The pHARe programme is the national prevention initiative in schools.

What schools in this country must do.

Each school has a référent harcèlement (anti-bullying lead). Concerns go to the chef d’établissement (principal) and the référent. The pHARe programme provides a structured response protocol. Académies (regional education authorities) escalate unresolved cases.

Trusted helplines and resources.

3018 — Net Écoute, the national number for cyberbullying, free, anonymous, multilingual help. 119 — Allô Enfance en Danger, 24/7. Pharos — internet-signalement.gouv.fr for criminal content. e-Enfance — e-enfance.org for guidance.

When to involve law enforcement.

17 (police emergency), or pre-filed report via Pharos for serious online crimes. The Office central de lutte contre la criminalité liée aux technologies de l’information et de la communication (OCLCTIC) handles serious cybercrime including child exploitation.

The email script that works for the school.

Email the chef d’établissement and the référent harcèlement. Reference the pHARe protocol explicitly. Request a meeting under the school’s anti-harcèlement procedure within 10 days. The Education Nationale ombudsman is available if unresolved.

CalmKin watches for the patterns this guide describes.

A modern AI reading the apps your child uses, in your child\u2019s language, with the France-specific crisis links built into every alert.

Cyberbullying — a French parent’s field guide.

Where the law and school policy stand today.

What schools in this country must do.

Trusted helplines and resources.

When to involve law enforcement.

The email script that works for the school.

CalmKin watches for the patterns this guide describes.

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