Topless Sunbathing Hits 'Historic Low' Among French Women

As the international community celebrates World Topless Day on Thursday, a new poll by Paris-based Ifop reveals that French women are now less inclined to bare it all while working on their tans.

France is seeing a dramatic decline in the number of women sunbathing topless over health concerns, fear of sexual harassment, and being photographed, Le Parisien reports citing a new poll.

The survey, conducted by Ifop to mark World Topless Day, revealed that only 19 percent of French women are now willing to ditch their bras while soaking up the rays, down from 34 percent in 2009 and 40 percent in 1984.

It marks a 40-year low in French women's tendency to bare it all when the sun is out. 

Most women who took part of the survey explained their unwillingness to expose their breasts (53 percent) because they want to protect their health, and flagged diseases like skin cancer. But among respondents under 25, most were more concerned about security: 48 percent said they didn’t want to be attacked or harassed by men while sunbathing topless, while 46 percent noted that they were worried about being secretly photographed naked.

Ifop’s 2020 survey among 5,000 Europeans revealed that less than 20 percent of French women under 50 preferred sunbathing topless in comparison to 43 percent back in 1984.

Topless sunbathing is not outlawed in France but has caused scandal in the past; for example, in August 2020, the police asked three women to cover their breasts following a holidaymaker’s complaint in Montpellier, sparking outrage.