Safety First?…Not In France!

French court bans condoms from Condom

A French court has banned a company set up by a descendant of King Louis XIV from selling luxury condoms described as from the southwestern town of Condom, the town's lawyer said on Wednesday.

The court in the nearby city of Bordeaux banned "the continued sale of condoms under the brand 'The Original Condom from Condom, France,'" said Caroline Lampre, lawyer for the picturesque town of 7,500.

"It is clear that the use of the name, the image and the renown of the town of Condom, without its knowledge, for entirely commercial ends (is) manifestly illicit," said the judge's ruling, seen by AFP.

French royal descendant Charles-Emmanuel de Bourbon Parme and count Gil de Bizemont have been selling their "luxury eco-friendly" prophylactics mainly in the United States since 2009.

The company is headquartered in the medieval town although the contraceptives themselves are manufactured in rubber-rich Malaysia.

Condoms sell on the company's website for $2 (around 1.50 euros) a piece, although the site says they are not available in Condom itself or anywhere else in France.

The site says the two aristocrats "decided to introduce a new kind of 'sophisticated' condom that holds a 'je ne sais quoi'."

"Condoms protect everyone from disease, ours protect from tackiness," Bizemont says on the site.

The town brought the case after Condom Mayor Bernard Gallado learned about the condoms from media reports.

The river Baise (French slang for sex) runs through the popular tourist town which feared the opening of a condom boutique in Condom itself.

Condom is now going to bring a case to get The Original Condom brand banned, lawyer Lampre said.