The French translation of E.L James' erotic novel "Fifty Shades of Grey" is a surprising hit among French women as well.

Critics had earlier claimed that French women were too sophisticated for E.L James' erotic novel "Fifty Shades of Grey" and wouldn't give in to the global mommy porn phenomenon. However, surprisingly the French translation of the book titled "50 nuances de Grey" is a big hit among French women and is still holding on to the top position in Amazon.fr's best seller list.

"They said this trifling tale spiced with spanking was only good for giving cheap thrills to puritanical Americans, and it would flop in the land of de Sade and French lovers," wrote Macha Séry in Le Monde. "How wrong!"

The first volume of the translation has already sold 20 million copies and is responsible for creating a dramatic rise in the sales of sex toys and interest in female sex-oriented sites on the Internet.

Muriel Ross, founder of Femme Majuscule, a magazine aimed at women over 40, told Radio France International that "Fifty Shades" reaches women left cold by high-brow French erotic classics.

"It's not like erotic books by de Sade or (Catherine) Millet which is literature for educated people and a bit too intellectual," she said.

French publisher Isabelle Laffont said that people always though the French were best at sex and hence the book wouldn't do very well in France. However, Laffont reveals that erotic French books are usually very dark, with people who are submissive and very unhappy. What worked in favor of "Fifty Shades of Grey" was the fact that the novel is very light and happy, says the publisher.