France targets Shein over weapons, sex dolls

French protesters criticize Shein outside Paris department store — French protesters criticize Shein outside the company’s Paris department store

(Image credit: Dimitar Dilkoff / AFP via Getty Images)

What happened

The French government Wednesday launched proceedings to suspend access to Shein’s online marketplace until the Asian fast-fashion giant can prove it no longer sells illicit items discovered on its site, including “Class A” weapons and sex dolls resembling children. The Finance Ministry said Shein had 48 hours to demonstrate that illegal products were scrubbed from its marketplace, while the Interior Ministry asked a court to shut down the site in France.

Who said what

The moves against the Singapore-based Chinese retailer were announced “little more than an hour after Shein opened its first physical store in the world,” on the sixth floor of the iconic Paris department store BHV Marais, the BBC said. “Shoppers queued to get into the store, while protesters screamed ’Shame!’ at them.” Shein said earlier this week it had barred all sex dolls from its platform and temporarily suspended its “adult products” category and listings from third-party vendors, pending an internal investigation.

But even before the “backlash over the sex doll listings,” The Associated Press said, Shein’s decision to “launch its first physical store in the heart of France’s fashion capital had faced criticism from environmental groups, Paris City Hall and France’s ready-to-wear industry.” The BHV Marais opening has “stirred broader fears in France about the impact cheaply made goods sourced from China will have on the country’s economy,” The Wall Street Journal said.

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What next?

Shein’s e-store cleanup is “unlikely to stanch the escalating scrutiny of its business practices in France,” the Journal said. Paris prosecutors said they are investigating the site, along with Temu, AliExpress and Wish, over violent, pornographic or “undignified messages” accessible by minors.

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.