By Helen Reid
PARIS (Reuters) -The European Union must take action against Shein, French government officials said on Thursday, saying the Chinese online retailer was in breach of the bloc’s regulations due to the sale of child-like sex dolls and banned weapons on its marketplace.
France moved to ban Shein over the illicit products on Wednesday, prompting the company to suspend its marketplace in the country as it reviewed how third-party sellers operate on it. It had already halted the sale of all sex dolls worldwide.
“The platform is evidently in breach of European rules,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in an interview with radio station Franceinfo. “The European Commission must take action. It cannot wait any longer.”
Shein’s website in France was still viewable on Thursday. But it showed only its own-brand clothing, for which it is best known, rather than the vast array of toys, homeware and gadgets normally available on its marketplace, which has been a growing source of revenue for the company.
Shein did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Thursday.
NO INTENTION OF SUSPENDING PLATFORMS, EU SAYS
As part of the crackdown on Shein, France’s budget and small business ministers visited Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport Thursday, where millions of packages arrive via air freight. They said they’d blocked 200,000 parcels, which would be examined by customs officials and France’s consumer watchdog.
Finance Minister Roland Lescure and Anne le Henanff, France’s digital minister, meanwhile wrote to EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen late Wednesday, calling for the European Commission to investigate Shein “without delay”.
“France alerts the European Commission and all member states to these serious breaches within its borders, and expects there are similar risks associated with this platform’s activities in other European Union countries,” they wrote.
A Commission spokesperson said the 27-nation bloc’s executive arm was in touch with Shein following the French complaint. Violating EU law could lead to further steps by the Commission, the spokesperson said, but added that the EU did not intend to suspend any platforms EU-wide.
Gunther Oettinger, a former European Commissioner and German state prime minister who advises Shein, said the company should “be as transparent as possible and, if needed, correct course.”
“I am sure Shein takes this seriously. You can see they have already delisted the products,” he told Reuters.
UNSAFE TOYS, TOXIC JEWELLERY: FAILING TO MEET EU STANDARDS
German retail industry group HDE also called on the German government and EU authorities to take a tougher stance against Shein.
“Violations of laws and regulations must have consequences,” HDE’s managing director Stefan Genth told Reuters on Thursday.
Germany’s state-backed products testing group Stiftung Warentest said last week that 110 out of 162 items it tested from Shein and rival online platform Temu did not meet EU standards, citing unsafe toys and toxic metals in jewellery.
The Commission has powers to investigate large online platforms for breaches of the EU’s Digital Services Act, which requires they collect and verify information on third-party sellers and check their marketplaces for non-compliant products.
It can impose fines of up to 6% of a company’s global annual turnover for confirmed breaches.
Shein had global revenues of $37 billion in 2024, according to parent company Roadget Business Pte Ltd’s most recent filing in Singapore.
CHINESE ONLINE PLATFORMS UNDER SCRUTINY IN EUROPE
France’s crackdown on Shein is about more than banned weapons and “pedopornographic” dolls.
With nearly 146 million monthly users in the EU according to its latest DSA transparency report, the platform has become a lightning rod for broader concerns over the increasing flow of cheap Chinese products into Europe’s single market.
Shein and other platforms like Temu, AliExpress, and Amazon Haul send cheap products from Chinese factories direct to consumers without paying customs duties, as the EU waives these for ecommerce parcels under 150 euros.
The EU plans to scrap the customs waiver in 2028, but France is pushing for faster action, including a two-euro ($2.33) fee on each low-value parcel.
In the meantime, the online retailers are under growing scrutiny.
Earlier this year, the Commission asked Shein to provide internal documents and information on risks linked to illegal goods and content on its marketplace.
The Commission is separately investigating Temu, owned by China’s PDD Holdings, stating in its preliminary findings in July that the platform was not doing enough to prevent the sale of illegal products.
Separately, French prosecutors are investigating Shein, as well as Temu, AliExpress and Wish, for alleged rule breaches including failing to prevent minors from accessing pornographic content via their marketplaces.
($1 = 0.8575 euros)
(Reporting by Helen Reid in London, Tassilo Hummel, Dominique Vidalon and Gabriel Stargardter in Paris and Rene Wagner in Berlin; Editing by Ros Russell, Alexandra Hudson and Joe Bavier)
