‘Nothing to negotiate’ with Shein boss, says France’s trade minister

“For now, I have absolutely no intention of meeting him. We have to be firm. We have to protect ourselves,” said French trade minister Serge Papin on France’s RMC radio, referring to the harms caused by Shein, a platform targeted by suspension proceedings in the country. “I have nothing to negotiate with Mr Tang; he must comply with the law,” he insisted.

Donald Tang, the executive chairman of Asian e-commerce platform Shein, sent a letter to the minister on Wednesday, pledging to “respect all French laws” and proposing a meeting.

On Friday, France’s minister for public accounts, Amélie de Montchalin, also rejected the request by Shein’s executive chairman for a meeting at Bercy, where France’s Finance Ministry is located.

On Wednesday, the French authorities also asked the courts to block the Shein website in order to “put a stop to the serious damage to public order caused by its failings”. According to several sources close to the case, this is an expedited application on the merits to the president of the Paris judicial court. It could take a few days, according to one of the sources.

Following the sale of sex dolls depicting little girls, for which the Paris public prosecutor’s office opened an investigation on Monday, Category A weapons (machetes, knuckledusters) were identified on the site.

“We are in a process that involves suspending the site, as well as judicial and European proceedings. We will do things while respecting the proper procedures,” declared Amélie de Montchalin on Franceinfo.

In response, the Singapore-based group, founded in China, has “temporarily” suspended sales on its French site by third-party sellers, as well as sales of Shein products outside the clothing sector.

Serge Papin acknowledged that “today’s Shein is not at all the Shein of Wednesday” because of these measures. However, during a “crackdown” carried out on Thursday at Roissy–Charles de Gaulle airport, to the north of Paris, customs opened all Shein parcels. Products “not up to standard” and sometimes “intended for illicit trafficking” were discovered, according to the minister.

Facing suspension, Shein has until Friday evening to bring its site into compliance, under the 48-hour procedure launched on Wednesday by the government and supervised by the Répression des Fraudes (DGCCRF).

The French government calls on the European Commission to “crack down”

On Thursday, French Minister for Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot, speaking on Franceinfo, called on the European Commission to “crack down” and sanction Shein, which is “clearly in breach of European rules”.

The EU says it shares France’s concerns and is taking the matter “very seriously”, according to Commission spokesperson Thomas Régnier. Asked about the possibility of the EU blocking the platform, he points out that such a measure falls within the remit of the member state where the platform is established (in this case, Ireland, where Shein has set up its European headquarters), and would be taken only as a last resort if a “systemic risk” for European consumers were established.

Jean-Noël Barrot lamented that “we have allowed large platforms whose rules are set by Chinese and American billionaires to flourish, disrupting the nation’s economic, social, and democratic life”.

French Economy Minister Roland Lescure and his colleague Anne Le Hénanff have also, in a letter, called on the European Commission to “provide firm responses to Shein’s repeated failings”.

They noted that platforms are exposed “to a financial penalty of up to 6% of the platform’s worldwide turnover and to measures suspending its activity”.

Nearly 8,000 people turned out in Paris on Wednesday for the opening of Shein’s first permanent store worldwide, at the BHV department store, according to figures from the Paris department store. Five other shops in France are due to open shortly.