July 2024
Sexuality is a relatively easy subject to talk about as a couple or with friends, but less so with family, whatever the age category. It's an important subject in French people's lives, and even more so for men and French people who have been in a relationship for less than 10 years.
On the whole, the French are satisfied with their sex and love lives, rating them 6.1 and 6.7/10 respectively. ¼ are even very satisfied.
86% of French people agree that when it comes to sexuality, “it's not the size that counts, but what you do with it”. More generally, almost half of French people want to try out new sexual practices, a proportion that is higher among young people and men. For their part, as men attach greater importance to sexuality, they find it harder than women to remain faithful to a single person.
2/3 of French people feel they are rather experienced when it comes to sex. This experience is strongly correlated with age, but not with gender. Although the French are experienced, 2/3 don't care how many previous partners they've had when “choosing” a partner. On the other hand, 18-34 year-olds are a little more demanding, and more of them say it matters.
4 out of 10 French people have sex with a partner at least once a week, with 4% having sex every day. When it comes to masturbation, 35% masturbate every week, including 8% who do so every day or almost every day. This figure rises to 13% among men. Although the practice is fairly frequent, only 1/3 claim to have an orgasm every time they have intercourse or masturbate, a frequency of orgasm that is even lower among women than among men.
The most common practice carried out by the French is watching free pornographic content, which half of them have already done. Connected sex toys are still little used, unlike their non-connected counterparts, although they are of interest to 1 in 5 French people. Practices linked to technology are more popular with young people, such as nudes, texting and long-distance sex via video.
Communicating fantasies with one's partner is important for 56% of French people, and even more so for the under-50s and singles. Nevertheless, almost half of French people also declare that their fantasies could not be realized in their sexual life.
Despite this, the most cited fantasy is making love in a public place, followed by group sex. For young people and young couples, on the other hand, it's role-playing and uniforms/disguises. There's no difference in the top 3 fantasies between women and men. However, men are more likely than women to feel that they are the ones who want to make love in their relationship.
With the Olympic Games just around the corner, gym and swimming are the most sexually charged disciplines in France. Disciplines that divide the 66+ and 18-34 age groups, with young people seeing them as less sexy than their elders.
The French have a rather poor image of the impact of the telephone and social networks on sexuality. 3/4 think it encourages the spread of bad information on the subject, and hinders real social interaction. Few think it contributes to sex education and awareness.
Young people are more positive about this impact. In particular, more of them feel that it makes it easier to meet partners, that it opens them up to a wide range of sexual topics, and that it contributes to sexual awareness and education.
Similarly, 51% of them believe that technological objects such as sex toys have a positive impact on sexual relations with a partner, compared with 40% of French people overall.
2/3 of French people say they are experienced in terms of sexuality, and only 8% are not at all. Logically, experience is strongly correlated with age, but not necessarily with gender.
In terms of experience, 2/3 of French people disregard the number of previous partners. Nevertheless, young people seem to be more demanding than the rest of the French, with almost half for whom this is important.
The primary criterion for choosing a sexual partner is kindness, far ahead of other criteria such as intelligence and beauty. However, men pay less attention to kindness than the rest of the French and place more importance on intelligence. This is also true for those over 65.
It is easier to discuss sexuality with a partner than with friends, and much less so with family. This topic is more challenging to address when one feels less sexually experienced. Young people, on the other hand, talk about sexuality more openly with their friends compared to the rest of the French population.
Almost two-thirds of the French declare that sexuality plays an important role in their lives. This importance is greater among men than women and among young couples. In terms of their emotional and sexual lives, the French are generally satisfied with both aspects, with about a quarter being very satisfied.
Is it really not the size that matters? Nearly 9 out of 10 French people agree with the saying that "it's not the size that counts but what you do with it," regardless of age. In terms of exploration, 45% of the French would like to try new sexual practices. This desire is stronger among young people, men, and those for whom sexuality is an important aspect of their lives. It seems more difficult for men to remain faithful to a single person compared to women.
4 out of 10 French people have sex with a partner at least once a week, including 4% who do so almost every day. 35% masturbate weekly, with 8% doing so daily or almost daily. This daily practice is less common among older people and more prevalent among men. Regarding these practices, one-third of the French experience an orgasm every time they have sex or masturbate. This result is heavily influenced by men, who seem to have orgasms more frequently than women.
In terms of practice, half of the French have watched free pornographic content. Although one-third have used traditional sex toys, fewer than one in ten have tried connected sex toys. Nevertheless, this is the practice that seems most interesting, with 19% of the French who have never tried it but are curious about it.
Young people are more inclined to try out practices linked to new technologies, such as sexting, nudes or long-distance sex. Lack of sexual experience also seems to be linked to different practices outside conventional sex.
Men think they have a higher libido than women, with ¾ of them believing they want to make love more than their partner. Communication remains important for the French, with more than half believing it's important to talk about fantasies with their partners. On the other hand, almost half also say that their fantasies are purely imaginary and couldn't possibly come true for real.
The three situations most fantasized about by the French are making love in a public place, having a relationship with several people at the same time and watching other people make love. A TOP3 that is relatively different among young people, especially younger couples, for whom role-playing and disguises are more important.
With the Olympic Games just around the corner, 1/3 of French people say that gymnastics is one of the sexiest sports in the competition, closely followed by swimming. An assessment that is very divisive between the youngest and oldest of our compatriots.
Overall, the French have a poor image of the impact of the telephone and social networks on sexuality. Indeed, ¾ say that they encourage the spread of bad information on the subject and that they hinder real social interaction. Finally, only 1/3 feel that they raise awareness on the subject and contribute to sex education. Younger people are more forgiving and more likely to think that the telephone and social networks make it easier to meet people, open up to a wide range of topics on sexuality and contribute to sex education, although it can create expectations in terms of sexuality.
When it comes to sex toy technology, 40% of French people think it has a positive impact on sexual relations with a partner, and another 40% think it has no impact. More precisely, 1/3 find that the use of sex toys improves the quality of their sexual relations and ¼ that technology plays a key role in their sexuality. A vision of technology that is better with young people.
A study directed by :
Audrey Mandefield, Senior Account Manager
Pauline Poché, Insights Team Leader
TO QUOTE THIS STUDY, USE AT LEAST THE FOLLOWING WORDING.
“Discurv survey for XloveCam conducted by online self-administered questionnaire from July 12 to 15, 2024 among a sample of 500 people representative of the French population aged 18 and over.”