Carried out among 1,000 Parisians, a survey highlights the evolution of desires, practices and the relationship to pleasure, particularly among young adults. Behind the apparent lightness of the subject, a broader reality emerges: that of a renewed relationship with intimacy, the body and sexual health.
Behind the romantic myth, a more assumed intimacy
Paris likes to describe itself as the world capital of love. Fiction contributes greatly to this,Emily in Paris to romantic comedies, including images of candlelit dinners on the banks of the Seine. However, the intimate reality of Parisians today seems much more nuanced.
According to a study conducted by Censuswide for LELO between October 24 and 31, 2025, 37.9% of Parisians aged 25 to 34 say they are attracted to kink, BDSM or role-play. A figure that contrasts sharply with older generations: 16.5% among 45-54 year oldsAnd 8.1% among those aged 55 and over.
This generational divide says a lot about a change in relationship to intimacy. Among Millennials, romanticism is no longer limited to emotional demonstration: it includes daring, dialogue around desires and consented exploration. Valentine’s Day then becomes less of a fixed celebration than a moment of reconnection with oneself and with others.
Sex toys, consent and sexual health: a new grammar of pleasure
The study also lifts the veil on concrete practices.
55.7% of Parisians aged 25-34 own at least one sex toycompared to 21.4% among those over 55. However, all ages combined, Paris remains more reserved than one imagines: only 41.5% of Parisians say they own a sex toy.
In night drawers, certain accessories have established themselves as essential: the
lubricant (26.8%) comes first, followed by
condoms (22.5%) and of
vibrator (19.3%). Handcuffs (16.4%), sensory masks (10.3%) and even connected sex toys (6.2%) reflect a growing curiosity for more exploratory forms of pleasure.
Far from being an anecdote, these figures also show an evolution in sexual health. Talking about objects, practices, consent is also talking about communication within the couple, knowledge of one’s body and prevention. A dynamic that is particularly marked among younger generations, nourished by popular culture, contemporary feminist movements and freer speech on female and male pleasure.
A cultural evolution, between emancipation and dialogue
Several factors explain this transformation. Popular culture has gone a long way toward normalizing discussions around intimacy, pleasure, and fantasies. Feminist movements have placed female pleasure at the center of debates, making self-care a legitimate subject. Finally, the evolution of the objects themselves, which have become designer and premium, has helped to remove certain taboos.
“Paris claims to be the capital of love, but our figures show that there is still a way to go in terms of pleasure. The good news? The new generations are changing the situation. Valentine’s Day is the ideal time to dare, whether as a couple or alone. Giving a sex toy means giving time for yourself, complicity, exploration. It’s a gift that says: your pleasure counts.”declares Amandine Ranson, marketing and communications manager for LELO in France.
Beyond marketing or provocation, the study highlights a deeper change: that of a less standardized, more conscious relationship to love, where pleasure becomes an element of well-being in its own right. A way, perhaps, of reconciling intimacy, health and freedom in a city that has never stopped reinventing the art of loving.