French train passenger fined €150 for using phone on speaker

The passenger, named only as David, told French TV channel BFM that he was on the phone to his sister while waiting at Nantes station when the SNCF staff member told him to switch his phone's loud speaker off, or risk being fined.

When he argued, he was served with the €150 fine, which has been increased to €200 because he did not pay it immediately. David says he intends to hire a lawyer to contest the fine.

SNCF confirmed the fine, although its version said that David had been in a waiting room of the station.

A company spokesman told Le Parisien that he was issued with the fine for disturbing other passengers, saying: "If he had played music at a high volume, it would have been the same thing."

Although it is unusual to be fined for using a phone in the station, passengers on an SNCF train are asked to switch their phone to either silent or vibrate mode while on board.

If you want to make a call while on the train, you are asked to go into the vestibule (the space between carriages) or the bar carriage, in order to avoid disturbing other passengers.

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Headphones should be used if you are watching films or listening to podcasts or music while on the train.

Although SNCF does not list a specific rule banning the use of phones on loudspeaker mode, passengers can be asked by the conductor to stop, and can be fined if they do not follow the order. The same applies for other on-board behaviour that could be seen as disturbing fellow passengers.

These rules apply on mainland train services run by SNCF - city public transport services such as the Paris Metro don't have specific rules on phone use, although there are regular information campaigns urging passengers to use their phones with consideration for the their fellow travellers.

Article R2241-18 of the French Transport Code states "it is forbidden for any person to use, without authorisation, sound devices or instruments, or to disturb the peace of others by noise or disturbances” in “spaces and vehicles assigned to the public transport of passengers or goods”.