France has now initiated a formal procedure to suspend Shein’s online platform following a series of regulatory escalations and political pressure.

French press clarification this afternoon indicates that the suspension is focused on the online service rather than the physical Paris retail store that opened today.

The suspension would remain in place until Shein can demonstrate that all content on the platform fully complies with French law and regulatory requirements. France’s Economy Minister and Minister for SMEs will deliver an initial progress update within 48 hours. This suspension comes in the wake of the scandal around a report from France's consumer watchdog put out over the weekend alleging that "sex dolls with childlike appearances" were being sold by Shein.

Shein has publicly claimed it has created an internal “integrity panel” to review what products can be sold and has launched an internal inquiry. This is another clear European example where authorities are willing to move directly to platform level suspension as an enforcement lever rather than product specific removals.

For member risk interpretation this is fully consistent with the DSA direction of travel. Europe is moving away from treating ecommerce platforms as neutral intermediaries and is increasingly placing direct duty of care and direct accountability for SKU governance, safety and legality at platform operator level.

FESI will continue following this topic with interest and inform members.