France is preparing a crusade against Shein. Papin: 2026 will be the year of resistance

French Trade Minister Serge Papin said on Thursday that 2026 will be the “year of resistance” to Chinese trading platform Shein and other such platforms. According to the minister, platforms do not bear the same responsibility for the goods offered as regular stores.

Papin said it was “unfair” for brick-and-mortar stores to be liable for products that were found to be non-compliant. However, in his opinion, online platforms are not responsible for it.

The minister found Shein's earlier withdrawal of illegal products “unsatisfactory.” He argued that there are “double standards” regarding stationary stores and platforms, because stores are responsible for the products they trade, but platforms are not necessarily. – Non-compliance (with standards) is systemic – emphasized the minister.

In this context, Papin mentioned a proposed law aimed at strengthening control; The authors of the project are MPs from the Socialist Party (PS) and the right-wing Republican party. He said he also hoped that the application of new postal fees would reduce consumer demand for products imported from China. As he described, “600 planes” loaded with parcels from Chinese online platforms land in Europe every evening. – We should not accept this – he appealed. A fee of €2 for shipments from outside the EU worth less than €150 will apply from March 1.

The court of appeal in Paris will hold a hearing on Thursday on the demand to suspend Shein, which the authorities requested in 2025 in connection with the scandal surrounding the sale of sex dolls that look like children on the platform, as well as weapons subject to restrictions in France. Last December, a court rejected the government's request to suspend Shein's entire website for three months, saying such a step would be disproportionate and recalling that the platform had withdrawn illegal products.

From Paris Anna Wróbel (PAP)

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