Quelle dommage! French women, known by Americans as our freewheeling sisters who let their feminist flags fly free, have stopped wanting to reveal so much of their skin while sunbathing a la plage. That's right—French beaches are becoming boob-free.

According to the Associated Press, a study of French women under 35 in Elle magazine revealed that only 2 percent admitted to wanting to go completely topless while sunbathing.

From the AP:

"French young women today are more conformist. They've already attained freedom ... So they've gotten lazy and taken it for granted," said Jean-Claude Kauffman, author of "Women's Bodies, Men's Gaze. Sociology of Naked Breasts."

Scholars point to the aging of the Generation X in France and a step back to traditional values among the more conservative "Millennial Generation."

And where once authorities defended toplessness, there's now an official push to restrict it.

The report reminds that France has always been permissive of topless sunbathing, even to the extent of permitting it during a conservative backlash during the 70s. But now parks in Paris feature signs that read, "In parks and gardens, we don't forget to wear the TOP and the bottom," the AP reports. France says: put your boobs away.

The survey in Elle claims that fear of skin cancer is the reason that showing more skin is not as popular, but there is speculation that the newfound conservatism is due to the economy, fashion, or the changing times. From the AP:

Sandra Riahi, 22, in a bikini, chimed in: "I've never done it. I'd be too embarrassed."

C'est la vie. Au revoir.

[Image via AP]