Focus on the Decision to Halt Shein in France: A Day of Destiny Arrives on December 19 - The Clash Between "Affordability" and "Children's Rights"

1. What is Happening: The "Judgment Day" Approaching on December 19

A court in Paris, France, will decide on December 19, 2025, whether to suspend the site of the major fast fashion company "Shein" for up to three months. The issue at hand is the sale of sex dolls resembling children and illegal weapons on Shein's marketplace.Reuters

Initially, the French government sought a "temporary block of the entire site," but due to concerns from judicial authorities and experts that this might be "excessive," the focus has shifted to a "conditional continuation plan" involving **"marketplace suspension + strict age verification and filtering implementation."**La Tribune

On the other hand, Shein strongly opposes, arguing that "illegal products have already been removed, and the damage is gone," and that the French government's attempt to suspend the site using Article 6, Paragraph 3 of the Digital Economy Law (LCEN) is an "abuse of authority."Reuters

2. The Origin of the Crisis: "Child-like Sex Dolls" and Weapons

The uproar began in late October 2025. The French consumer watchdog DGCCRF discovered **"sex dolls with the appearance of children"** on Shein's site and reported it to the prosecutor's office. Based on product descriptions and categories, authorities have a "very strong suspicion" that these may constitute child pornography.euronews

Subsequent reports found similar dolls on other Chinese e-commerce sites like AliExpress, leading to their sales being halted as well. The French High Commissioner for Children has strongly condemned platforms selling such products, stating that they are "complicit in a sense."euronews

Further investigations by the French government and lawmakers revealed that weapons banned in France, such as brass knuckles, were also being sold on Shein.TIME

The combination of "child-like sex dolls" and "illegal weapons" is seen as crossing a "line that should not be crossed" by French public opinion, leading to a nationwide **"Shein bashing"**.

3. The Government's Trump Card: From a 3-Month Suspension to "Deceleration"

3-1. Invocation of Exceptional "Site Suspension" Authority

In early November, the French government filed a petition with the court seeking a site suspension of up to three months for Shein, based on Article 6, Paragraph 3 of the Digital Economy Law LCEN.

This provision allows the court to order "extraordinary measures" like site blocking when significant harm is caused by illegal online content.La Tribune

However, this "last resort" has mostly been used against pirate sites, and stopping an entire large e-commerce platform is an extremely rare case.

3-2. Court Battle and "Policy Shift"

During the oral arguments on December 5, the French lawyers slightly lowered their initial full block proposal and presented the following **"sub-plan."**La Tribune

• Continuation of the suspension of Shein's marketplace (third-party sellers' area)

• Resumption of non-clothing product sales is limited to after implementing
  strict age verification and content filtering measures

• Delegating the monitoring of its implementation to the digital media regulatory agency "Arcom"

Additionally, the French government claimed that upon inspecting 200,000 Shein parcels within 24 hours at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, 80% were non-compliant, raising concerns about Shein's overall safety management system (Shein questions the feasibility of this figure).Reuters

The prosecution, while expressing that a full block could be "excessive" in light of European Court of Human Rights precedents, agrees with maintaining the marketplace suspension and mandating preventive measures, indicating a more "middle-ground" approach.Reuters

As a result, the December 19 judgment will focus on where it lands among the three options of

"full suspension, conditional partial suspension, or lighter corrective order."

4. Shein's Rebuttal: "This is a Political Caravan"

Shein's lawyers criticized the government in court with a very strong tone.

• "The client is being targeted by a **'cabal' (collective attack) by the media and politics."**

• Illegal products have already been removed, and the marketplace has been suspended in France since November 5, so "the damage has disappeared."

• Having Arcom oversee it bypasses the authority of the European Commission and Irish authorities under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA).

Such is their logic.Reuters

This year alone, Shein has

• blocked 27,000 adult products before listing

• moderated over 2 million listings

, emphasizing their efforts in content management.La Tribune

However, considering that products like the problematic dolls, with "photos of children and explicit sexual descriptions," appeared at the top of search results,

there is a persistent question of whether "technical filtering alone is insufficient."

5. The "Shein Shock" Spreading Across the EU

This incident is no longer just a domestic issue in France.

5-1. A "Showcase Case" Under the DSA?

In 2024, Shein is designated as a **"Very Large Online Platform (VLOP)"** under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA), bearing the strictest obligations regarding illegal content and minor protection.European Parliament

In response to this uproar, the European Parliament plans to pass a resolution in its November plenary session,

• considering the sale of illegal products like child-like sex dolls and weapons on Shein

• and Shein's suspension of third-party marketplaces and removal of illegal products in France

, urging the European Commission to verify whether the DSA is truly preventing such illegal sales and to take additional measures.European Parliament

5-2. New Investigation in Texas, USA

Furthermore, this scandal has crossed the Atlantic, leading to a Shein investigation by the Texas Attorney General.
The state announced a comprehensive investigation into

• illegal labor practices

• sale of products containing harmful substances

• misrepresentation of safety and supply chain

• handling of user data

, with the French doll issue also being mentioned as a background.Reuters

The existing criticisms of Shein, such as environmental pollution, labor exploitation, and copyright infringement, are now compounded by the image of

"selling products that sexualize children,"
leading to a situation where the brand is increasingly labeled as an "ethically out-of-bounds brand" on a global scale.euronews

6. The Swirling Anger and Division on Social Media

6-1. "Protect the Children" — The Angry Boycott Camp

On France's X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook, posts with hashtags like
**"#BoycottShein"** are being shared by politicians and citizens alike.X (formerly Twitter)

A typical tone is as follows (summary):

• "Human rights violations, environmental destruction, copyright infringement, and now child-like