French claim to 'greatest lovers' dealt blow

France’s claim to being the world’s greatest lovers has been dealt a blow by a new study that finds three-quarters of couples have bad sex lives. The survey found 76 per cent of French people said that sexual problems were causing them relationship problems.

It showed one in four men and women said they had used the excuses of headaches, stress, tiredness or the proximity of children to avoid having sex with their partners. And research found half of French people felt that at times they simply had 'no desire’ to have sex, according to the study by French pollsters Ifop.



The survey contradicts onr from six months ago in which found 40 per cent of French men thought they were the best lovers, and the most intelligent and the funniest men in Europe. “Clearly French people have sexual problems they are not being open about,” said Paris gynacologist Dr Sylvain Mimoun. “Sexual issues can cause much greater problems within a couple.

“On the woman’s side, she sometimes starts to feels undesirable. With men, they suffer impotence problems with make them feel less masculine and they can become hostile and agressive.” He added: “If the body then gets used to not having sex, a lot of the normal urges just disappear.”