Sex Toys Hit the High Street in France

Vibrators in the bathtub, dildos in the living-room, Geisha balls at the news-stand -- sex toys are coming out of the closet in France, and glam 30-something women are leading the trend.

"It's become a fashion phenomenon, if you haven't got a toy you're uncool," said Samantha Thouret, whose Yoba boutique, opened in 2003 in one of Paris' smartest districts, was the first of a string of new stylish adults-only shops to hit the city.

"We are not a sex-shop," stressed Patrick Pruvot, whose just-opened store on the other side of town -- Passage du Desir (Route of Desire) -- claims to be "the first dedicated to the sustainable development of the couple." "We don't sell products, we sell ideas, ideas to help couples,

" Pruvot added. "A sex toy can help revive a couple that's in a rut." Crowded with mostly young female shoppers, Pruvot's new love store offers erotic games and how-to books, love candles and lingerie, as well as dress-up Chippendale pants for him, and nurses uniforms and feather bras for her.

In the further interest of the pursuit of pleasure, the store boasts a love-coach, a sexologist, a specialist caterer for naughty soirees, and even pole-dancing classes.

"I very much favour this new concept," said Marianne Pauti, a doctor and sexologist who has just published a guide to good sex. "It overturns the sordid image of the old sex-shops and makes these new stores accessible to all."