The website of ultra-fast-fashion giant Shein won’t be closed down in France during the year-end festivities. In the early afternoon of Friday December 19, a French court has rejected the government’s request for a three-month suspension of Shein, following the discovery of illicit products on the Singapore-based marketplace.
Shein
The public prosecutor’s statements during the hearing of December 5, indicating that a total ban on the site would be disproportionate in terms of EU jurisprudence, did suggest that the court’s decision would go in that direction. But it remains a setback for the French government which, two weeks ago, in a post-hearing statement, reiterated it expected Shein to be heavily sanctioned.
The Paris court has turned down the government’s request for tough measures, pursuant to article 6-3 of the law safeguarding trust in the digital economy, to be taken against Shein.
The government had asked for the marketplace to be blocked or, at the very least, temporarily suspended, following the discovery on its digital aisles of some products like sex dolls looking like very young girls, category A arms, and banned pharmaceuticals.
At the December 5 hearing, the defence attorneys for Shein condemned what they termed a political “conspiracy.”
Shein admitted the products in question had been on sale, but defended itself by stating that they had been immediately withdrawn following the alert, and that it had then taken appropriate action. Shein, which was founded in China but is now based in Singapore, reckon it had responded adequately, even suspending its French site of its own accord.
After November 5, the only products sold by Shein in France are the clothes in its ultra-low-cost, constantly changing collections, made in China mostly using synthetic fabrics. While the site is carrying out a “complete audit” and is working to correct any “flaws.”
However, so long as the site remains accessible, the regulatory and judicial tussle is far from over. France has also asked the EU to impose sanctions on Shein.
