Legal Victory for Shein: French Court Dismisses Government’s Suspension Attempt

Shein wins the first battle in its war against the French government. The Paris court rejected Friday the French government’s request to suspend Shein’s website for at least three months. The court considered the measure “disproportionate”.

The request of the Executive has come after the signaling, at the end of October, of products banned for sale on the platform’s marketplace, a space that hosts third-party sellers. Among the items detected at the time were child-like sex dolls, bladed weapons and slimming drugs.

At the hearing, Shein has defended that it acted on its own initiative. The company has assured that it took the initiative to pause the marketplace platform on the market, last November 5, as well as the sale of products outside the fashion category. Likewise, the Chinese giant has defended itself with the argument that it has launched an audit to close “failures” and strengthen controls.

The prosecution had already pointed out in a previous hearing that blocking the entire platform could be excessive. In this line, the court recognized the existence of a “serious harm to public order”, but framed the facts as “one-off” sales and gave weight to the adjustments made by the company, concluding that a total suspension was not proportional.

Shein escapes temporary suspension of its platform in France

The ruling has also drawn a line under adult categories. The justice has ordered Shein not to sell sex toys or other adult products without an age verification system, under fine of €10,000 for non-compliance.

Shein has presented itself, in the words of its defense, as the victim of a political and media “hunt”. Apart from this hearing, the platform managed by Donald Tang remains under criminal investigation opened by the Paris Prosecutor’s Office and entrusted to the Office des Mineurs, in a case that also reaches other platforms such as AliExpress, Temu, Wish or eBay.

It is essential to go back a few weeks to understand why the episode has escalated so quickly. In October 2025, the announcement of Shein’s installation in the heart of the BHV Marais department store unleashed a media and citizen storm. Its arrival has functioned as a symbol of an ultra fast fashion that clashes with the French discourse of sobriety, traceability and social justice.

In parallel, the platform has accumulated regulatory fronts. In July, the Dgccrf announced a penalty of €40 million for misleading commercial practices linked to discounts and environmental claims.

The Executive has framed the battle with Shein in a broader fight against ecommerce giants, with pressure also in Brussels to tighten the European siege. For now, the courts have stopped the suspension of the website, but the conflict is still open for catalog control, protection of minors and commercial compliance.