The French government announced on Wednesday that it has begun proceedings to suspend the website of Asian fast fashion brand Shein following the scandal over the sale of sex dolls resembling girls on its site, which French justice is investigating. Shein, which says it has removed them from its platform, will temporarily stop selling products “from third-party sellers” in France. The announcement comes just as the brand opened its first physical store in the world on Wednesday, in central Paris.
Shein, for its part, has temporarily suspended all sales made by third-party sellers on its own market in France “after detecting concerns regarding products offered by independent sellers,” the company said. “This measure will allow for a thorough review to ensure full compliance with French legislation and the highest standards of consumer protection.”
This Wednesday, next to the town hall, long queues formed at the entrances to the historic BHV warehouses, which house the Shein sales space and are protected by dozens of riot police. A very different queue formed on the sidewalk in front, with dozens of people scolding those waiting to enter: “You’re a disgrace!”
Despite the complaints of recent days, the head of Shein France, Quentin Ruffat, cut his tie this afternoon in the historic department store, among a crowd of customers unaware of the scandal, who wanted to buy at low prices. Outside, dozens of people carried banners reading “Shein is complicit in pedophilia.”
The order to start the procedure to suspend Shein was given by Prime Minister Sebastién Lecornu. The suspension will be temporary, “until the platform demonstrates to the authorities that the contents it markets comply with the law”. Within 48 hours, the press release states, the competent ministers will specify the measures.
The investigation began on Saturday, when the French Directorate General of Competition, Consumers and Fraud Repression (DGCCRF) denounced in court the marketing of these dolls, calling them “child pornography”.
The Asian giant, which until now limited itself to selling online or through ephemeral stores, it debuts with physical stores in the country that is most combative with its business model. France has already fined the platform several times for unfair competition, believing that selling at such low prices damages local trade. A law, dubbed the “anti-Shein law,” was even passed to limit its impact.
“We want to attract a popular clientele,” justified the director of the BHV department store, Frédéric Merlin, who has been harshly criticized in recent days for not having broken his collaboration agreement with the Asian brand after the doll scandal. “The arrival of Shein is a danger, BHM has made a strategic mistake in the long term, in the short term it did it for money”, denounced the Minister of Construction, Vicent Jeanbrun.
“Shein’s strategy goes against local commerce and the environment. BHV is a symbol of Paris and the capital does not need Shein,” explained Jean Luc Salaberry, of the National Federation of Local Authorities, at the entrance to the shops. Together with him, several municipal officials, such as the deputy mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Gregoire, denounced “a shame”.
Inside the shop, where mainly clothing items are sold at prices between 10 and 50 euros, some customers have complained that the products are more expensive than those offered on the site. A woman who has been queuing since morning says she left from Evreux, in Normandy, to see for herself: “If they let them settle here it will be because the quality isn’t that bad and they respect the law,” she says. The Asian giant, which is based in Singapore, also plans to open permanent stores in the cities of Angers, Dijon, Grenoble, Limoges and Reims.
Some of the brands sharing space with the Asian brand have announced they will withdraw from department stores in protest. The Shein spokesperson assured that it will collaborate with the French justice system in the investigation. The High Commissioner for Children, Sarah El Hairy, confirmed on Wednesday that a 56-year-old man who had purchased one of these products had been arrested. As revealed, he had a history of sexual crimes, which “proves that these types of products fuel pedophilic impulses.”
