Tuesday, November 4, 2025 - French finance minister Roland Lescure has issued a stark warning, threatening to block Chinese e-commerce giant, Shein’s access to the French market after the e-commerce platform was accused of selling “sex dolls with a childlike appearance.”
According to CNN affiliate BFMTV, the controversial dolls
were available for purchase on the French version of Shein's platform until
Monday morning, prompting immediate and severe official reaction.
France’s anti-fraud office, the DGCCRF, publicly accused Shein of selling the items, stating that their description and categorization on the site made it difficult to doubt the "pedopornographic nature of the content."
Minister Lescure made the government's stance unequivocally
clear to 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 released a statement to BFMTV confirming that all
relevant products were immediately removed once flagged.
Quentin Ruffat, a spokesperson for Shein, stated, “We
take this situation extremely seriously. This type of content is completely
unacceptable and goes against all the values we stand for.” He added that the
company is taking corrective action and strengthening internal mechanisms.
However, French authorities have already escalated the
matter, passing the case onto French prosecutors and the French telecom
regulator. The DGCCRF highlighted that under French law, the sharing of
pedophilic material on "electronic networks" is punishable with up to
seven years’ imprisonment and a €100,000 fine. The sale also suggests Shein
lacks sufficient safeguards against minors accessing pornographic content on
its site—a separate crime.
The scandal arrives at the worst possible moment for the
Chinese retail giant. Shein is scheduled to open its very first
brick-and-mortar store in Paris on Wednesday, which was intended to be the
first of many shops across France
France’s High Commissioner for Childhood, Sarah El-Haïry, has
demanded that authorities work to identify both the sellers and the buyers of
these dolls. This is not the first time a major online retailer has faced such
a crisis; in 2018, Amazon was involved in a similar affair involving
third-party sellers.
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