German sex industry calls for state aid

German sex shop owners and erotic film makers, badly hit by the economic crisis, are pushing for state aid that has also been requested by their US peers, the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung reported on Friday.

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"Economic aid would be judicious," erotic trade federation official Uwe Kaltenberg told the WAZ.

The German erotic sector comprises mainly small and medium-sized outfits that could use financial aid for things such as continuing education for employees, he said. However, the sex industry official held few illusions regarding the chances of getting Berlin to lend a hand.

"The rescue of Opel is a better draw during an election than support for the small and medium sized companies in our sector," Kaltenberg acknowledged in reference to the German automaker and Germany's upcoming general election scheduled in September.

Germany's erotic industry, which includes the nationwide chain Beate Uhse, has suffered heavily from downloading of X-rated videos from the Internet, and the call by Kaltenberg follows one by two leading figures in the US sex sector.

Earlier this month, Larry Flynt and Joe Francis called upon the US congress to approve an economic support package worth $5 billion (€3.8 billion).

Flynt and "Girls Gone Wild" video series creator Francis asked the newly convened Congress "to rejuvenate the sexual appetite of America."