A utter ban on homework is a unusual step, but the theories behind it aren't unprecedented. Educational Theorist, Alfie Kohn wrote a book on it. The Homework Myth.

http://www.alfiekohn.org/books/hm.htm

I recommend reading the book to the get the depth of the arguments but essentially Kohn argued that the benefits of homework are ambiguous  he listed studies showing student performance was unaffected by reducing homework and he showed how excessive homework assignment, which is the trend in the US, greatly eats into the health of the home life of students and their families. Students opportunity to relax and learn through play is reduced by forcing them to do homework each evening, and the parent's evening is compromised because they become defacto enforcers of the homework. They can't take the child to a baseball game, down to the river to watch the boats, or whatever else they might like to do in the evening, because the schedule of their evening has already been dictated by a teacher.

My point is just to show that the idea isn't pulled from nowhere, even though the french president appears to be using a different basis for his proposal.

Like the French policy you noted, Kohn focuses on children of school age, not higher education, so some of the theory may not be applicable, but general, I believe you can find sympathy for the idea that formalized education is only one facet of what will make a person a successful, healthy and happy architect, engineer, or person in general.

I agree with your point that indefinite deadlines are not consistent with a professional work environment and actual budget and time constraints.

Years ago I took a class as part of my master's program in Structural Engineer, on Seismic analysis that was taught in an abbreviated 1 month schedule, the class met 3 or 4 times a week for multiple hours. The schedule made homework assignment and grading impossible and as such we learned and solved problems and materials all within the structured class time. I learned quite a bit of this very technical subject, despite not doing any homework in the class. 

I've long wondered about the phenomenon of how we as architects (over)work, especially in school.

Part 1 of my own theory is that open-ended creative work --iterative with multiple foci but no clear stopping point aside from a deadline-- is the problem.  Part 2 is the academic-professional culture valorizing long hours and lack of sleep that's been around for more than a century, it seems. ("You went to bed last night? What kind of designer are you?")

But it’s not just us.  I’ve seen students in film, art, and computer science put in long hours on a regular basis that appears to be just part of the job, and not unusual in their disciplines.  And don’t forget law and med students.  Every group likes to think itself as the most victimized… and it may well be that architecture students as a group put in the most hours of anyone.  But we have lots of company in other professions.

How to change that?  Who knows?  But the problem is widespread.
 

Medical students changed it by studying it and presenting evidence that is was detrimental to the safety of othe public.

I never studied or did any homework in highschool and just coasted through most of it. Natural intelligence will only get you so far, and I was not in the top group of students (who actually worked hard). Doors to sciences and engineering slowly closed on me. I was good enough for architecture though!

Architecture was a walk in the park. Long hours yes, but most of them were wasted on goofing off with occasional deadline push. If anything, there was not enough homework. My education was skimpy on actual knowledge and drowning in "learning ze design process".

 I don't see how anything could ever be changed about this. Academia has dug a trench and there's barbwire everywhere. We need flamethrowers.