Macron to Push for Ban on Social Media for Under-15s after School Stabbing 

France's President Emmanuel Macron gestures as he speaks during the presentation of the European Pact for the Oceans at the third UN Ocean Conference in Nice, French Riviera, Monday, June 9, 2025. (AP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron gestures as he speaks during the presentation of the European Pact for the Oceans at the third UN Ocean Conference in Nice, French Riviera, Monday, June 9, 2025. (AP)
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Macron to Push for Ban on Social Media for Under-15s after School Stabbing 

France's President Emmanuel Macron gestures as he speaks during the presentation of the European Pact for the Oceans at the third UN Ocean Conference in Nice, French Riviera, Monday, June 9, 2025. (AP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron gestures as he speaks during the presentation of the European Pact for the Oceans at the third UN Ocean Conference in Nice, French Riviera, Monday, June 9, 2025. (AP)

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.

Police questioned a 14-year-old student on Tuesday over the knifing of a 31-year-old school aide during a bag search for weapons.

Prime Minister Francois Bayrou told parliament the incident was not an isolated case. Macron said social media was one of the factors to blame for violence among young people.

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.

Macron's comments come amid a wave of measures in countries around the world aimed at curbing social media use among children.

Australia last year approved a social media ban for under-16s after an emotive public debate, setting a benchmark for jurisdictions around the world with one of the toughest regulations targeting Big Tech.

Although most social media do not allow children under 13 to use their platforms, a report by Australia's online safety regulator found children easily bypass such restrictions.



Iceland Volcano Erupts for 9th Time Since 2023

Lava emerges through a fissure following a volcano eruption near Grindavik, Reykjanes, Iceland July 16, 2025. Hordur Kristleifsson via Civil Protection Of Iceland/Handout via REUTERS
Lava emerges through a fissure following a volcano eruption near Grindavik, Reykjanes, Iceland July 16, 2025. Hordur Kristleifsson via Civil Protection Of Iceland/Handout via REUTERS
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Iceland Volcano Erupts for 9th Time Since 2023

Lava emerges through a fissure following a volcano eruption near Grindavik, Reykjanes, Iceland July 16, 2025. Hordur Kristleifsson via Civil Protection Of Iceland/Handout via REUTERS
Lava emerges through a fissure following a volcano eruption near Grindavik, Reykjanes, Iceland July 16, 2025. Hordur Kristleifsson via Civil Protection Of Iceland/Handout via REUTERS

A volcano erupted on Wednesday in Iceland's Reykjanes peninsula in the southwest, weather authorities said, the ninth eruption to hit the region since the end of 2023.

Live video feeds showed lava spewing out of a fissure in the ground, with the Icelandic Met Office saying that it began just before 4:00 am (0400 GMT).

Broadcaster RUV reported that the nearby fishing village Grindavik had been evacuated, as had the Blue Lagoon, Iceland's famed tourist spot.

The previous eruption to hit the area was in April.

When the first volcanic eruption first hit the area in late 2023, most of Grindavik's 4,000 residents were evacuated, AFP reported.

Since then, almost all of the houses have been sold to the state, and most of the residents have left.

Volcanoes on the Reykjanes peninsula had not erupted for eight centuries when in March 2021 a period of heightened seismic activity began.