A man in France has been fined $300 for using the speakerphone on his mobile phone while in a train station.
During an interview with CNN affiliate BFMTV, a man known only as “David” shared an incident that took place at Nantes station in western France on a Sunday while he was waiting for a train.
While conversing with his sister over the phone on speaker, David was approached by an official from SNCF, the state-owned rail company in France.
“An SNCF security person told me that if I didn’t turn off my loudspeaker, I was going to be fined €150,” he told BFMTV.
The man said he initially thought it was a joke.
“I think the person was offended. She took out her notebook and fined me,” he added.
In the event, the fine turned out to be even higher – €200 (A$329) – because he did not pay it on the spot.
The passenger told BFMTV that he has hired a lawyer as he plans to contest the fine.
CNN has reached out to SNCF for comment.
The act of making phone calls or watching videos without using headphones in public areas is a contemporary behavior that can be quite exasperating. A Reddit query about behaviors people secretly judge others for revealed a popular response of disapproval for individuals who play TikTok videos loudly in quiet settings without headphones.
Is it okay to use your phone on speaker in public?
Debrett’s, Britain’s bible of all things etiquette, published a piece in 2023 on the new rules of cell phone use. It states: “Keep phone calls to yourself. If you’re making a video call in a public space (or if you’re just too lazy to hold the phone up to your ear) you must use headphones or earbuds.
“Nobody should be forced to listen to your phone conversation; it will be annoyingly distracting and might be intrusive or embarrassing. The person at the other end might object if they realise their conversation is audible to a train carriage full of unwilling eavesdroppers.”
