“The Original Condom Company”, owned by two French men, advertised their prophylactics as made in the picturesque town of Condom, situated on the river Baise, when they were in fact made in Malaysia.

But a court in Bordeaux ordered the company to remove all reference to the town from their product as only an unoccupied address linked to the company could be found there.

Condom’s mayor, Bernard Gallardo, and the town hall have been trying to play down the link to its anglophone namesake and meaning for years.

“We're not going to hide our heads in the sand, we won't prevent people from making a link with the name. But retreating into such notoriety can only compromise the tourism qualities of the town," Gallardo told Reuters.