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Finance minister writes to EU tech chief to demand

investigation

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France moves to ban Shein over illicit products

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European Commission previously questioned Shein over

products

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German retail association calls for action from Germany,

EU

(Adds Shein website in paragraph 4, EU rules in 9, number of

Shein users in EU in 11, European investigation of Temu in 12)

By Helen Reid

PARIS, Nov 6 (Reuters) - France increased pressure on

the European Union on Thursday to launch a formal investigation

into Chinese online fast-fashion retailer Shein over the sale of

child-like sex dolls and banned weapons on its marketplace.

France moved on Wednesday to ban Shein over the illicit

products, prompting the company to suspend its marketplace in

the country to "review and strengthen" how third-party sellers

operate on it. It had already halted the sale of all sex dolls

worldwide.

"I believe the platform is evidently in breach of European

rules," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in an

interview with radio station Franceinfo. "The European

Commission must take action. It cannot wait any longer."

Shein's website in France was still viewable on Thursday.

But it showed only its own clothing, rather than the vast array

of toys, homeware and gadgets normally available on its

marketplace, which has been a growing source of revenue for the

company.

France's Finance Minister Roland Lescure and Anne le

Henanff, the country's digital minister, wrote a letter to EU

tech chief Henna Virkkunen late Wednesday, calling for the

European Commission to investigate Shein "without delay".

"France alerts the European Commission and all member states

to these serious breaches within its borders, and expects there

are similar risks associated with this platform's activities in

other European Union countries," they wrote.

A Commission spokesperson confirmed the letter was received

and said the 27-nation bloc's executive arm would assess it and

decide on the next steps.

Shein did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for

comment on Thursday.

UNSAFE TOYS, TOXIC JEWELLERY: FAILING TO MEET EU STANDARDS

German retail industry group HDE also called on the German

government and EU authorities to take a tougher stance against

Shein.

"Violations of laws and regulations must have consequences,"

HDE's managing director Stefan Genth told Reuters on Thursday.

Germany's state-backed products testing group Stiftung

Warentest said last week that 110 out of 162 items it tested

from Shein and rival online platform Temu did not meet EU

standards, citing unsafe toys and toxic metals in jewellery.

Shein is classified as a "Very Large Online Platform" under

the European Union's Digital Services Act, and the Commission

has powers to investigate platforms for potential breaches of

that law.

The DSA requires online platforms to collect and verify

information on third-party sellers and check their marketplaces

for non-compliant products.

The Commission can impose fines of up to 6% of a company's

global annual turnover for confirmed breaches of the DSA.

Shein had global revenues of $37 billion in 2024, according

to the most recent filing by its parent company Roadget Business

Pte Ltd in Singapore.

CHINESE ONLINE PLATFORMS UNDER SCRUTINY BY FRANCE, EU

Shein has nearly 146 million average monthly users in the

EU, according to its latest transparency report submitted under

DSA requirements.

Earlier this year, the Commission asked it to provide

internal documents and information on risks linked to illegal

goods and content on its marketplace.

The Commission is separately investigating Temu, owned by

China's PDD Holdings ( PDD ), under the DSA. In preliminary

findings in July, it said the platform was breaking EU rules by

not doing enough to prevent the sale of illegal products through

its platform.

Separately, French prosecutors are investigating Shein, as

well as Temu, AliExpress and Wish, for alleged rule breaches

including failing to prevent minors from accessing pornographic

content via their marketplaces.