PARIS – Deprived of luxurious restaurants and forced to stay home at night to curb the spread of the coronavirus, French lovers are turning to sex toys to spice up Valentine’s Day.
“Perhaps at a time when everything seems forbidden, sexuality has become one of our last bastions of freedom,” said Patrick Pruvot, founder of the Passage du Desir chain of sex toy stores.
In the three months leading up to Valentine’s Day this year, sales at the seven Passage du Desir points of sale increased by 68% over the previous months. A year earlier, sales increased only 12% during the same period before February 14.
Fists of sweets and other sex toys line the shelves of the Pruvot store, surrounded by restaurants and closed cafés in central Paris. Large red heart-shaped boxes filled with 14 toys for the bedroom bring a touch of Valentine’s Day to the advent calendar.
“We usually went to a restaurant, but this is going to be a little difficult. So, I thought he would please him to show a little attention, ”said Maryne Fraudin, 21, while searching the merchandise for an eccentric game for her and her boyfriend.
France is proud to be a nation of seducers. Seduction influences not only how the French relate, but how they do business, define style, elect politicians and enjoy eating and drinking, wrote Elaine Sciolino in her book La Seduction.
For a long time, the French were slow to accept sex toys, a taboo that was slowly dissipating before the pandemic left many couples with more time available at home, said Pruvot.
“The COVID crisis has accelerated the trend,” he said.
Other countries saw a similar phenomenon during the COVID-19 blockades. From Denmark to the normally conservative Colombia, sales of sex toys jumped at the start of the pandemic, while British lingerie chain Ann Summer posted higher sales during the first blockade.
“What else can we do if we can’t get out,” said Anthony Jeka before leaving with his partner and a bag full of goodies.