The news in brief
An Ifop survey for Passage du Désir (1,947 French women, August 2026, published 16 October) shows that 26% of women in a couple have no sex or no longer do, yet 63% of them say they are satisfied with their romantic life. They cite a drop in their own desire first, rather than lack of time. The survey is self-reported, limited to women and commissioned by a retailer of intimate accessories.
What the survey says
On 16 October 2026, Ifop published the first part of its “Observatory of Female Desire”, carried out for the retailer Passage du Désir. The questionnaire was completed online from 19 to 24 August by a representative sample of 1,947 French women aged 18 and over, 1,240 of whom live as a couple: their answers feed almost all the figures that follow (Ifop, 2026).
The headline figure is an impression: 77% of women in a couple feel they have sex less often than at the beginning, 16% about as often and 7% more often. In couples of more than twenty years, the impression of a decline reaches 87% (Ifop, 2026).
Today, 41% make love at least once a week and 66% at least once a month, while 9% did not want to answer. In total, 26% have no sex, or no longer have it, with their partner. This share climbs to 55% after 65, but already reaches 16% between 25 and 34 (Ifop, 2026).
Some of the questions were also put in April to 3,607 women in the G7, about 500 per country. France (26%) is on a level with Germany and the United Kingdom, far from Japan, at 66% (Ifop, 2026). With so few respondents per country, small gaps remain fragile.
The reasons women give
When women without sex are asked why, the most frequent answer concerns desire: 36% cite it, mostly as a drop in their own libido (23%), rarely as a drop in their partner's (5%). Health and physical limits follow (31%), then age (17%). Only 9% mention conflict, routine or falling out of love (Ifop, 2026).
Ifop concludes that the wearing down of desire weighs more than lack of time or mental load, but these are explanations given by the women themselves, not proven causes. The link with attraction stands out clearly: the absence of sex concerns 67% of women with no desire for their partner, against 5% of those who feel a great deal (Ifop, 2026). Correlation does not mean cause.
An absence of sex that is not always a crisis
Among women without sex with their partner, 63% say they are satisfied with their romantic life, against 91% of those who have sex and 49% of single women (Ifop, 2026). The gap lies mostly in intensity: 18% say they are very satisfied, against 46% (Ifop, 2026). And among those in a relationship for at least a year, 32% kept moments of intimacy without penetration over the year, against 61% of all women in a couple (Ifop, 2026).
The importance given to sexuality plays a part: 44% of women without sex judge it not important for being happy in love, against 21% of sexually active women. The share of French women who judge it important went from 81% in 2005 to 68% in 2026 (Ifop, 2026). Ifop admits it does not know whether this detachment explains the abstinence or justifies it after the fact.
Ifop therefore distinguishes two faces. For some, often older or ill, the absence of sex is peaceful. For others, it is endured: the partner no longer attracts, or pleasure has become solitary. Among women without sex, 41% say they preferred to masturbate rather than have sex with their partner (Ifop, 2026).
How to read these figures
The survey is self-reported: it reports what women say, not what they do. It gives a voice only to women, and it was commissioned by a retailer of intimate accessories, which invites caution about its figures on the levers of desire. The 77% rests on a memory, and Ifop itself warns that the beginning of a relationship is often idealised. Finally, Ifop compares some figures with a 2005 face-to-face survey, itself inviting caution.
Other data point the same way. According to the Inserm and ANRS survey, women aged 18 to 69 in a couple and sexually active in the year reported on average 6.0 sexual encounters over the previous four weeks in 2023, against 8.6 in 2006; among men, it goes from 8.7 to 6.7 (Inserm, 2024). Ifop links the perceived decline to the “routinisation” described by sociology, where passion gives way to habit and tenderness.
What this changes for a couple
First lesson: having less sex over the years is the statistical rule, neither a fault nor a verdict on love. You can love each other firmly and desire each other less, and satisfaction is not measured by frequency alone.
Second lesson: expectations matter. Women without sex say their desire would return first with tender gestures in everyday life (67%), better physical shape (63%), more dialogue about their wishes (56%), more effort from their partner to be attractive (50%), time as a couple (41%), a better sharing of tasks (37%) and novelty (30%) (Ifop, 2026). Intimate toys appeal to only 31% of them, against 51% of sexually active women (Ifop, 2026). These are wishes, not proven methods. Above all, Ifop suggests that breaking the silence about one's sexuality could help make the absence of sex chosen rather than endured.
What our main page adds
Our main page first recalls that there are two ways of desiring. Spontaneous desire, that of the early days, arises before any contact. Responsive desire awakens only once arousal has begun, through a caress or the decision to get started: many drops in libido are just the normal passage from one to the other. It also invites you to look first for causes that can be corrected, such as tiredness, certain medications, hormones or depression, before concluding there is a problem in the couple, and it recalls that a gap in desire between two partners is negotiated without pointing a finger. If the drop lasts more than six months and causes distress, it advises seeing a professional. All these points are detailed in the “Low desire” page.
Going further
This news item is part of a broader topic, which our page Low desire: understanding it, and finding the wish again covers in detail.
Read the page: Low desire: understanding it, and finding the wish again