Two national surveys describe French sexual behavior, though they cover different groups and different periods. The first sampled adults over 35 by telephone; the second reached people aged 15 to 24. Read together, they sketch frequency, satisfaction, and the complaints people report.
How often do French adults have sex, and how satisfied are they?
In a phone survey of 1002 adults over 35, conducted in November 2003 and published in a peer-reviewed journal in 2006, 80.2% had a sexual partner and average frequency was 1.8 times per week, 2.0 for men and 1.6 for women. Satisfaction was high: 83% were satisfied or relatively satisfied.
Everyday intimacy, a pillar of marital satisfaction
Frequency varied with sex but not dramatically. Men reported 2.0 times per week on average, women 1.6, and the overall figure was 1.8. The sample covered 483 men and 519 women, all aged over 35, contacted by telephone.
Thoughts about sex followed a similar split. Overall, 47.1% reported thinking about sex frequently, rising to 60.8% among men.
Satisfaction and the wish for change did not move together. Although 83% described themselves as satisfied or relatively satisfied with their sex life, only 38.7% said they wanted nothing to change. That figure was 31.6% among men and 45.2% among women, which means a majority in both groups named at least one thing they would alter. Work stress left a visible trace on desire: 63% reported decreased desire during stressful periods at work, and among women the share reached 72.3%.
Satisfaction figures of this kind depend on how the question is framed and who answers it. The 2006 publication reported results from a single telephone survey conducted in November 2003, with 1002 adults over 35 taking part. It described that group at that moment, and the numbers should be read as a snapshot rather than a fixed national rate.
What are the most common sexual complaints among French men and women?
Men’s main complaints in the same survey were decreased desire at 24.9%, premature ejaculation at 23.7%, and erectile dysfunction at 14.4%. For women, decreased desire was far more common at 45.7%, followed by orgasm disorders and pain during intercourse, each reported by 15.5%.
A couple talking with a specialist, not just statistics
The two lists differ most in their leading item. Decreased desire was the top complaint for both sexes, but it was far more frequent among women, at 45.7% against 24.9% for men.
Premature ejaculation followed decreased desire for men at 23.7%, and erectile dysfunction at 14.4%. Among women, orgasm disorders and pain during intercourse were each reported by 15.5%. These figures record what respondents named when asked, so they describe reported complaints rather than diagnoses made by a clinician.
Complaints rarely arrive alone, and the survey recorded each one separately. A respondent could report decreased desire and an orgasm difficulty at the same time, so the percentages should not be added together to produce a single total. What the figures show is how often each complaint was named by people in the sample.
The gap in reported desire is the single largest difference between the two groups in this sample.
How common is sexual dysfunction among young adults in France?
In France’s 2010 national sexual and reproductive health survey, published in a peer-reviewed journal in 2016, 48% of women aged 15 to 24 who had intercourse in the past 12 months reported at least one sexual dysfunction, compared with 23% of men. Data came from 842 women and 642 men.
Dysfunction was common in this age group, yet its weight in daily life varied widely.
Among those who reported at least one dysfunction, 57% did not consider it a hindrance. Perceived impact differed by sex: 31% of women said it hindered their sex life, compared with 9% of men. The analysis drew on 2309 respondents, of whom 842 women and 642 men had had intercourse in the past 12 months and were included in this part of the work.
That 57% is the most striking single figure in the younger sample, since it separates the presence of a difficulty from the burden it carries.
The age range matters when these numbers are compared with the older sample. Young people aged 15 to 24 are at a different stage of sexual experience, and the questions put to them concerned the past 12 months. Reported dysfunction at this age was more frequent among women than men, and the perceived effect on sexual life followed the same direction, though the two measures did not match in size.
These two surveys reflect only a sample of the French population from the years they were conducted and are not representative of all of Europe or of French people today.
Read together, the two surveys suggest that sexual complaints are common across age groups, and that satisfaction and difficulty often coexist. Most adults in the older sample described themselves as satisfied, and most young adults reporting a dysfunction did not see it as an obstacle to their sex life. Support options exist for people who want them, and raising the topic with a clinician is a reasonable first step.
It was a telephone survey of 1002 adults over 35 in France, fielded in November 2003 and published in a peer-reviewed journal in 2006. The sample included 483 men and 519 women, and all results describe that group alone.
Which complaint was most common overall?
Decreased desire was the leading complaint for both sexes, at 45.7% among women and 24.9% among men. It was also the only item that appeared at the top of both lists.
Why are the two surveys not directly comparable?
They used different age groups, different sampling approaches and different questions, and they were conducted 7 years apart. One covered adults over 35; the other covered people aged 15 to 24. Their figures describe separate populations rather than one trend line.
Can these figures describe France as a whole?
No. Each survey speaks for the people who took part at the time of data collection. They offer useful detail about two specific groups, and they do not establish rates for the entire country or for later years.
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Colson MH, Lemaire A, Pinton P, Hamidi K, Klein P. Sexual behaviors and mental perception, satisfaction and expectations of sex life in men and women in France. J Sex Med. 2006;3(1):121-131. PMID: 16409225. DOI: 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2005.00166.x
Moreau C, Kågesten AE, Blum RW. Sexual dysfunction among youth: an overlooked sexual health concern. BMC Public Health. 2016;16:1170. PMID: 27863525. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-016-3835-x
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