French court rules against government's appeal to shut down Chinese online retailer Shein

French court rules against government's appeal to shut down Chinese online retailer Shein
Illustration of Shein logo, court gavel and French flag taken. The French Government lost an appeal case to suspend the marketplace of Shein in France.
Reuters

The French government’s bid to suspend the marketplace of Chinese online retailer Shein in the country has been overruled by a Paris Court of Appeal.

The Court made this ruling, which upholds a previous ruling by a judicial court in 2025 saying that "the harm that had justified the State's action no longer existed."

The case follows an outcry in November 2025, when France’s consumer watchdog found items including childlike sex dolls and prohibited weapons being sold on the platform.

This discovery prompted the Paris prosecutors' office in November 2025 to say it had opened investigations against Shein and also rival online retailers AliExpress, Temu and Wish over the sale of sex dolls.

According to the office, the probes were for distributing "messages that are violent, pornographic, or improper, accessible to minors".

The online fast-fashion retailer said it had since banned all sex dolls and removed its adult products category globally, adding it has strengthened controls on sellers and products to ensure a safe shopping experience.

In a statement after the ruling, Shein said, "We ​have continued to significantly reinforce our controls for both sellers and products on our marketplace to ensure that our consumers in France can enjoy a ⁠safe and enjoyable online shopping experience."

A lower court had already ruled in December 2025 against the French government pressing for a suspension of the marketplace of the online retailer, saying that such a move would be “disproportionate.”

This ruling led the government to appeal the lower court’s decision, but the Appeal Court upheld the decision of the lower court.

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