France: 30% of young adults had no sex in 2023

France: 30% of young adults had no sens in 2023

Is it a problem that one in three French people between 18 and 24 did not have sens for an entire year? In France, this question has dominated headlines for months. The IFOP poll triggering the debate reveals figures that sound like a disaster there: 30% of young people didn't sleep with anyone in 2023, only 43% of French people say they have sens once a week—fifteen points lower than in 2009 and a half-century low—and 43% of those under 30 believe they could live with someone without sens. In a country that prides itself on being the capital of love, the thermometer has spiked.

Why do French people have less sens?

Explanations pile up, but none is sufficient alone. Dating apps have turned flirting into a market where, it is often repeated, there are ten men for every woman on Tinder: a disproportion generating frustration on both sides. Prono acts as a substitute while simultaneously causing burnout. And the pandemic left a hangover not visible in employment statistics: specialists describe twice as many young people with suicidal thoughts and a precarious generation "more focused on how to fill the fridge than on intimate relationships."

The most debated factor, however, is not technological. Quitterie Chadefaux, a journalist specializing in sens education, argues that feminism has allowed us to rethink desire and consent, leading potentially to less frequent but better sensual. Sesso Marie Bareaud sharpens the point: "Today, being a free woman means saying no." She adds a nuance rarely in headlines: in her practice, she sees many men who want to be respectful toward women but don't know how.

How reliable is the data?

Not everyone believes the figure, not out of denial, but due to methodology. Surveys on sensual behavior depend on what individuals choose to report. Modesty, shame, and social desirability bias push people to both exaggerate and conceal, meaning that 30% could be an underestimate or overestimate unnoticed. Without entering anyone's bedroom, the data only measures statements: worth remembering before making it a headline.

Hypergamy: few men, many women

In the sociological analysis, a thesis repeats ad nauseam: 20% of men concentrate nearly 80% of sensual activity. This is a modern version of the old hypergamy argument, suggesting apps amplified existing selection. If a minority monopolizes the market, the rest is rationed; and rationing isn't distributed equally.

The French survey highlights the asymmetry: 60% of men experience lack of sens as "suffering," compared to 30% of women. From there to politics is a short step.

Consent: brake for some, pogre for others

#MeToo and the consent debate appear in all explanations. For part of the analysis, this cultural shift causes the decline: being a free woman means saying no. For another part, it is the opposite of a problem, because for centuries unwanted sens was the norm. Bareaud focuses on the other side of the counter, warning that the path is not to "deconstruct" men. "What we need is to reconcile them," she says.

From frustration to vote

Seduction courses and masculinist profiles face new competition: far-right activists presenting themselves as the last romantics. The most cited case is Thais d'Escufon, former spokesperson for an identitarian group, now a dating advice YouTuber, dismissing listening to women as stupidity. That this message finds an audience among young men is no accident: it happens when part of the generation perceives access to relationships as forbidden territory.

Economic cost of the sensual recession

Can it be measured in euros? Some draw a direct line between lack of stable relationships and three variables: fewer incentives to endure a job, lower birth rates, and reduced consumption related to family formation. The chain is unproven and mixes psychology with national accounting. But the French data points that way: sensual has ceased to be a given for a growing part of the young population.

Are DNA tests banned in France?

Here appears the most repeated legal detail. In France, paternity DNA testing is restricted, and many interpret this as avoiding family surprises. On the same ground, it is claimed that up to 32% of fathers raise children who are not biologically theirs, a figure circulating without study. Without easy testing, the data remains speculative.

Official consolation remains: less sens, but higher quality. If true, France has just become the world's most refined country due to lack of practice.