PARIS – Remember lavish restaurants and are forced to stay home at night to limit the spread of the coronavirus, and French lovers are turning to sex toys to spice up their Valentine’s Day.
“Perhaps in 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 before Valentine’s Day, sales in the Passage du Desir seven stores increased by 68% compared to previous months. A year earlier, sales had risen by just 12 percent in the same period before Feb. 14.
Candy cuffs and other sex toys lie along the shelves of Pruvot’s shop, surrounded by shutters of restaurants and cafes in Paris. Large heart-shaped red boxes with 14 toys for the bedroom bring a Valentine’s Day twist to an Advent calendar.
‘We normally go to a restaurant, but it’s going to be a little difficult. So I thought it might please him to pay a little attention, ”said Maryne Fraudin, 21, as she searched the store for a kinky game for her and her boyfriend.
France is proud of a nation of seducers. Seduction affects not only how the French relate to each other, but also how they do business, define style, choose politicians and enjoy food and drink, writes Elaine Sciolino in her book La Seduction.
For a long time, the French were slow to accept sex toys, a taboo that slowly faded before the pandemic left many couples with more time at home, Pruvot said.
“The COVID crisis has accelerated the trend,” he said.
Other countries have seen a similar phenomenon during COVID-19 exclusions. From Denmark to usually conservative Colombia, sales of sex toys jumped early in the pandemic, while British lingerie chain Ann Summer had higher sales during the first closure.
“What else can we do if we can not go out,” said Anthony Jeka before walking out with his partner and a suitcase full of goodies.