Fifty Shades of Grey surprise hit with sex-savvy French women

The erotic trilogy Fifty Shades of Grey, written by British housewife EL James, is currently topping the country’s bestseller list. France already has a strong erotic literature tradition of its own, so why turn abroad, especially to read something panned by the critics?

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Fifty Shades of Grey, about a young girl who falls in love with a handsome billionaire businessman with a penchant for sado-masochism, has sold 65 million copies worldwide.

No one thought it would take off in France where it’s now sold two and half million copies. After all the French already know all there is to know about sex, right ?

Not so, says Fifty Shade's French publisher Isabelle Laffont.

"Everybody was surprised because everybody thought that in France we were the best for sex and so this book wouldn’t do well, it’d already been done," she says.

... already been done by the likes of the Marquis de Sade, Anaïs Nin or Catherine Millet, key French literary alumni who’ve written explicitly about sex.

But they don’t speak to your average female, says Laffont.

"Erotic literature in France is more sombre, very dark, with people who are submissive and very unhappy," she adds. "This book is very light and happy… the heroine is discovering both love and good sex at the same time. Women win!"

For Muriel Ross, founder of Femme Majuscule magazine aimed at women over 40, James’s Fifty Shades has opened new doors for women readers.

"It’s given us the authorisation to read that kind of book; it’s not like erotic books by de Sade or Millet – which is literature for educated people and a bit too intellectual," she claims. "And also it was much more strongly sexual, you didn’t want to be seen with it."

Laffont admits Fifty Shades isn’t great literature and doesn’t pretend to be. This hasn’t stopped French critics savaging the trilogy, further adding to its charm perhaps.

Clearly the book has responded to a need for romance and sex in the same tome and has made reading erotic romance more acceptable.

Romance represents about 10 per cent of book sales in France. 

"Nobody wants to say they read romance but still we are selling romances, so some people must reading them and it’s mainly women," says Muriel Ross. "There’s a time [in your life] when you want some fantasy and a nice love story."

But Fifty Shades hasn’t just affected reading habits, it might be influencing sexual habits too.

Sylvain Mimoun, a well-known French sexologist, told Le Parisien newspaper the work had helped free up French attitudes towards sexual fantasies, making them seem less shocking.

"I know some woman that have discovered their sexuality and desires," says Sylvie Gand, who writes reviews of erotic romance for a website called Blue Moon. "They didn’t know it was possible to enjoy themselves like that."

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Audio report - Fifty Shades of Grey

Alison Hird

This comes as little surprise to Sylvia Day, the best-selling author of 20 erotic romance novels, whose Crossfire series is thought to have inspired Fifty Shades.

"I’m only surprised that people think women enjoying sex is a surprise," she laughs. "Of course we do !"

Day’s been writing erotic romance in which couples find their happy ending through sex for nearly a decade.

"What’s changed is that Fifty Shades went into sado-masochism in a more mainstream way," she says.

While this dosn’t mean French fans of Day and EL James are putting their gurus’ every word into practise, some do appreciate the frank way sex is treated.

Adelaide, 33, a budding romance writer, says the image of the French woman with nothing left to learn is something of a myth.

"Women in France find it difficult to talk about sex, mainly becuase it’s frowned upon by men," she says. "But now this book has opened up the way so you no longer have to be ashamed and hiding in a corner."

Adelaide says the craze for erotic romance is benefiting teenagers. Indeed many of those queueing up at the recent Paris Book Fair to get copies of Day’s best-selling novel You Bared Me signed are young women.

"The book’s quite crude," says 22-year-old Geraldine. "It doesn’t beat about the bush, so yes I’ve picked up tips," she adds. 

But she declines to divulge any.

A recent survey also claims sales of sex toys have rocketed in France.

"They’re easier to get hold of now," says Adelaide. "It’s a trend, a fashion, but it’s good for society. Especially for women, quite simply to be able to find pleasure."