More and more French men are opting to get vasectomies, according to new data reported by BFMTV.

In 2021, more than 23,000 vasectomy procedures were done in France – a 12-fold increase in the 1,908 operations performed in 2010, according to France’s public health insurer Assurance Maladie.

Urologist and vasectomy specialist Vincent Hupertan told BFMTV that there has been a profound shift in mentality among men.

“There is more access to information, so we can demystify preconceived notions around the idea of castration, masculinity, and sexuality,” he said. “We put all that aside.”

Hupertan also explained that more young men – those under the age of 40 – are feminist. “It’s really men who want to take their share of the responsibility and the mental load”, the surgeon told BFTMV. 

The procedure is simple and in France is typically only performed under local anaesthesia. 

Doctors like Hupertan have also begun offering less invasive vasectomies, via an innovative method called a ‘no-scalpel’ vasectomy. The main difference is that the no-scalpel vasectomy uses a needle to make a small hole in the scrotum in order to access the ducts. According to BFMTV, this option is developing “more and more” in France.

As for French men themselves, 38-year-old Florent, and father of three, told BFMTV that he decided to get a vasectomy to “take matters into [his] own hands”. 

Florent described the operation to BFMTV as “fast and painless. There are many exchanges with the doctors to ensure that the anesthesia [took] well and that there [was] no pain”.

To get a vasectomy in France, patients are required to have a four-month cooling off period between the first appointment and the procedure, due to the near irreversibility of the operation.

Vasectomies are not immediately effective after the operation. Three months following the operation, a spermogram is often required to determine whether the sperm are absent from the semen. During this period, French health authorities advise using another method of contraception.

The procedure typically costs €65 – plus consultation fees for two doctor’s appointments and one consultation with an anaesthetist – and is fully reimbursed by the public health system.