French Finance Minister Roland Lescure has warned that the government could ban Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein from operating in France after the company was accused of selling sex dolls “with a childlike appearance.”
According to BFMTV, the dolls were listed for sale on the French version of Shein’s platform until early Monday, sparking immediate outrage from authorities.
Government and regulators react
France’s anti-fraud office, the DGCCRF, accused Shein of selling items that left “no doubt about the pedopornographic nature of the content.” The office confirmed that the case has been referred to prosecutors and the telecom regulator for potential criminal proceedings.
Under French law, distributing or selling pedophilic material online carries up to seven years in prison and a €100,000 fine. Regulators also warned that Shein could face additional charges for failing to prevent minors from accessing pornographic content on its site.
Finance Minister Lescure told BFMTV:
“If these behaviors are repeated, we will be entitled to ban access to the French market for the Shein platform. These horrible objects are illegal.”
Shein’s response
In a statement to BFMTV, Shein confirmed that all flagged listings had been removed immediately.
Company spokesperson Quentin Ruffat said:
“We take this situation extremely seriously. This type of content is completely unacceptable and goes against all the values we stand for.”
Ruffat added that Shein is conducting an internal review and tightening safeguards to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Wider implications
The controversy couldn’t come at a worse time for Shein, which is set to open its first physical store in Paris this Wednesday — a launch that was meant to signal its growing European ambitions.
France’s High Commissioner for Childhood, Sarah El-Haïry, called for investigators to identify both the sellers and the buyers of the banned dolls, saying the issue “goes beyond commerce” and touches on “the protection of children and human dignity.”
This isn’t the first scandal of its kind in France: in 2018, Amazon faced similar criticism when third-party sellers were found offering comparable products.
As of Monday evening, the French government confirmed the products had been taken offline, but said investigations were continuing.
