Sperm Count Among French Men Falls By A Third

[Raistlin]

French men have long been considered the world’s best lovers but their reputation in the bedroom has taken a bit of a hit after a new study suggested their sperm count has dropped by up to a third

Down: French sperm count

The count among Gallic males has dropped dramatically between 1989 and 2005, at a rate of 1.9 per cent a year, a report published in the journal Human Reproduction claims.

The quality of sperm has also declined among French men, with the percentage of normal-shaped sperm falling by 33.4 per cent.

Epidemiologist Dr Joelle Le Moal said the findings of the study, which analysed more than 26,000 men over the 17-year period, constituted ‘a serious public health warning’.

‘To our knowledge, this is the first study concluding a severe and general decrease in sperm concentration and morphology at the scale of a whole country over a substantial period,’ he said.

‘This is the most important study carried out in France and probably in the world considering that you have a sample that’s close to the general population.’

However sceptics remain unconvinced over the methods used in the study, with one researcher saying the ‘jury is still out’ on the issue.