France moves to suspend Shein over sex dolls and weapons on day Paris store opens

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By Helen Reid and Mimosa Spencer

PARIS (Reuters) -France started proceedings on Wednesday to suspend online fast-fashion retailer Shein after childlike sex dolls and weapons were found being sold on its site, marring the opening of the Chinese company’s first shop in a Paris department store.

The discovery of the dolls on Shein’s website by France’s consumer watchdog on Saturday fuelled an outcry and heightened the pressure on Shein, already under fire over its store.

“On the Prime Minister’s instructions, the government is initiating proceedings to suspend Shein for as long as necessary for the platform to demonstrate to the authorities that all of its content is finally in compliance with our laws and regulations,” the finance ministry said in a statement.

Shein said it sanctioned the sellers of the dolls, implemented a worldwide ban on sex dolls on its site, and independently decided to temporarily suspend its marketplace in France to “review and strengthen” how third-party sellers operate on the site.

‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH’, SAYS MINISTER

Lawmaker Antoine Vermorel-Marques had earlier on Wednesday pointed out listings on Shein’s site for weapons including brass knuckles, which are banned in France, and an axe.

“Enough is enough with the pedopornographic dolls, and now the weapons,” Commerce and Small Business Minister Serge Papin said in parliament on Wednesday, before ordering the suspension of the platform.

Shein’s website sells both its own-brand clothes, for which it is best-known, and a vast array of products from third-party sellers on its marketplace.

The finance ministry said it would suspend Shein’s entire website in France, not just the marketplace, if banned products continue to be found for sale.

Digital Minister Anne le Henanff also asked the European Commission to start an investigation into Shein’s practices, the finance ministry said. The EU executive body is already investigating Shein over unsafe and dangerous products.

France has experience in cracking down on online platforms – it suspended U.S. ecommerce marketplace Wish in 2021 after its consumer watchdog found dangerous products for sale on the site, only allowing it again a year and a half later.

The government said it would do an ‘initial review’ of its findings on Shein within 48 hours.

SHEIN STORE CONTROVERSY

The shop on the sixth floor of the 19th-century BHV department store has caused uproar among politicians including Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo, and retailers who say Shein’s business model has an unfair advantage and has eroded French high streets.

Protesters bearing “Shame on Shein” placards had gathered outside BHV before the opening, and riot police looked on as dozens of shoppers who had queued for hours filed into the store.

“That (suspension of Shein) would be a blow for a lot of people, I think, financially, and actually because it’s so vast, they have so much choice on the platform,” said Benoit Guillem, a chef, as he browsed in the Shein store.

“So that’s what’s convenient, even in terms of delivery, they’re quite fast.”

‘PREDATORS AND CRIMINALS’

To others, Shein’s image is tainted by the sex dolls.

Outside the store, artist Leslie Green told Reuters: “I was just passing by but I’m already aware that they’re selling a little doll that looks like a little girl that encourages pedophilia, so I’m very disgusted by that.”

The Paris prosecutor is investigating Shein and AliExpress over the alleged dissemination of images or representations of minors of a pornographic nature, which can lead to five years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros.

Arnaud Gallais, cofounder of Mouv’Enfants, which fights violence against children, was among demonstrators that gathered before the store opening.

“We are here with our little signs as a reminder that behind these sexual dolls there are potentially predators and pedophile criminals,” he said.

SGM SEES CHANCE TO BRING SHOPPERS BACK TO STORES

Shein was approached to set up a concession by Société des Grands Magasins (SGM), which is hoping the launch will attract a younger clientele to the struggling BHV.

After the announcement that Shein was suspending its marketplace in France, SGM Chairman Frédéric Merlin said: “I salute this decision… I hope that finally we will be able to stop the sale of illicit products on these platforms.”

He said he was confident of the quality of the products sold in the Shein store, “but that’s unfortunately not the case for the sellers on their marketplace”.

($1 = 0.8575 euros)

(Reporting by Mimosa Spencer, Michaela Cabrera, Helen Reid, Inti Landauro, Lucien Libert, Leigh Thomas; Editing by Alexandra Hudson, William Maclean)