Sex tips from French women: this is how they do it in Paris
I always watch Parisian women fascinated. Not only at how they elevate smoking on the street to glamorous, but especially at the naturalness with which they enjoy life. Of course, not every Parisienne is a femme fatale, and the French bedroom is partly a myth we like to believe. But in that myth there is also something that we down-to-earth Dutch can learn from. The French secret is less about techniques and more about an attitude: enjoying without guilt, slowing down, and seducing. This way, you bring a bit of Paris to your own bedroom.
Why are French women so well known for their sensuality?
That has a lot to do with how the French view pleasure. Food, wine, fashion, and love are not sins or rewards in France, but simply part of daily life. They even have a poetic expression for orgasm: la petite mort, the little death. Literature has also helped with that. In Paris, Colette and Anaïs Nin wrote about desire and sensuality at a time when women actually had to remain silent about it. That tradition of enjoying without apologizing is still felt.
Why do French women buy lingerie for themselves?
For many Parisiennes, lingerie is not a special purchase for Valentine's Day, but something you simply wear on a Tuesday, under your jeans and for no one else but yourself. A matching set gives you a secret that only you know, and you can see it in how you walk. French brands like Aubade, Simone Pérèle, and Chantal Thomass have been making an art of it for decades. Aubade even became famous with a campaign that called it “lessons in seduction.” The tip: don't buy the set you think he will like, but the set in which you find yourself irresistible.
How do French women seduce?
With their heads, mainly. In Paris, seduction often begins long before anyone opens the bedroom door, at a good conversation at the table, a glance over a wine glass or a teasing remark. French women do not reveal everything immediately and like to keep a bit of mystery. You can apply this perfectly in a long relationship: send a teasing message during the day, make an appointment for the evening, and let the tension build throughout the day. Desire grows best when it has to wait a bit.
What is a cinq à sept?
In France, the moment between five and seven in the afternoon has traditionally been called a cinq à sept. It was known as the time for a secret rendezvous with a lover, after work and before dinner. We gladly leave the secret part to the French, but you can easily steal the idea. Arrange a cinq à sept with your own partner: a hotel room, an afternoon at home without kids, or just turn off the phones and lock the door. Sex before dinner, when you still have energy, is much more exciting than at half past eleven when you are already asleep.
Why do French women take their time?
Anyone who has ever had lunch in Paris, knows that the French do not let themselves be rushed. A meal lasts two hours, and the same goes for love. Sex is not a task to check off in that philosophy, but a moment to enjoy. So don't start right away with the main course. Take your time for kissing, touching, and undressing, and don't see foreplay as a warm-up, but as a stage in itself.
How do French women view their bodies?
The Parisienne is known for not seeing her body as a project, but as something to live in and enjoy. A wrinkle, a soft belly, or a strand of gray hair is no reason to turn off the light. That relaxation is perhaps the strongest aphrodisiac that exists, because those who feel comfortable can surrender. So leave that one little light on.
How do you bring Paris to your own bedroom?
You don't need a Eurostar ticket to apply this at home. Wear beautiful lingerie for no reason, plan a cinq à sept with your love, put a bottle of champagne in the fridge, and slow everything down by at least half. A French playlist in the background does the rest. And who knows, you might whisper something in his ear afterward. After all, everything sounds better in French.
