but warned that the company remains “under close observation”. Legal proceedings, the government stressed, would continue. Rising tension The latest uproar began when France’s consumer fraud agency, acting on an anonymous tip, discovered lifelike sex dolls with “childlike features” listed on Shein’s platform. Investigators described the items as having “the appearance of little girls,” calling them “pedopornographic” in nature. Shein swiftly removed the listings, banned all sex-doll-type products, and suspended third-party sellers. But outrage spread quickly. French lawmakers called for EU sanctions, protesters gathered outside BHV Marais, and an online petition demanding that Shein’s store opening be cancelled drew more than 120,000 signatures. The BHV backlash  The controversy over Shein’s presence at BHV Marais has exposed a deeper divide within France’s retail ecosystem. The 168-year-old department store, owned by the Société des Grands Magasins (SGM), is home to Shein’s first flagship.  The 1000sqm boutique was SGM’s attempt to draw younger shoppers into a struggling department store facing falling sales, supplier payment delays and declining footfall.  However, France’s fashion community found the store opening as the encroachment of globalised, low-cost fashion into the heart of Parisian retail.  Yet others argue that Shein’s presence could catalyse long-overdue change. French retail, particularly in the mid-market, has struggled since the pandemic, with more than 3000 stores closing in the past five years. For struggling department stores, Shein’s ability to drive foot traffic may be irresistible, even if it comes at a reputational cost. France’s growing hostility toward Shein This isn’t Shein’s first run-in with French authorities. Lawmakers in Paris have long viewed the ultra-fast fashion retailer as a disruptive force that threatens domestic brands and environmental standards. Earlier this year, France’s National Assembly passed a bill aimed at curbing the environmental impact of fast-fashion imports.  The legislation proposed taxes on ultra-low-cost fashion and stricter transparency requirements on supply chains. Environmental activists have accused Shein of fuelling overconsumption and generating vast amounts of textile waste, while labour advocates allege exploitative working conditions within its supplier network. Even the company’s physical arrival in Paris was met with hostility. Employees at BHV Marais staged demonstrations, and some French brands pulled their own merchandise from the department store in protest. Critics saw Shein’s partnership with SGM as a cynical commercialisation of one of France’s most cherished retail institutions. “I am uncomfortable with the French government’s paradoxical reaction,” Selvane Mohandas du Menil, managing director of the International Association of Department Stores (IADS), said in a note on LinkedIn. “In surface supporting the outcry, as Shein is accused of destroying city centre businesses by exploiting a loophole in shipping rules, it also quietly allowed La Poste to team up with Temu, a Shein-like model. It was also announced yesterday that it would explore cuts to its support for the fashion industry as a whole, which conflicts with its public claim to support it.” Between business and backlash Despite the controversy, Shein’s expansion into France continues. Through its partnership with SGM, the company plans to open stores in five additional French cities: Dijon, Grenoble, Reims, Limoges, and Angers. “From a business perspective, opening in Paris makes strategic sense for Shein, as it did for H&M, which opened a new store in Le Marais earlier in September,” Menil added. “Relying on ailing retailers such as BHV also makes sense business-wise (Shein has literally unlimited cash to ‘help’ them, just like the ogre has unlimited appetite).” For Shein, that may be precisely the point. By investing in physical retail, it’s attempting to anchor itself in regulated markets, gain legitimacy and reassure both consumers and policymakers that it can operate responsibly. But as the protests in Paris have shown, the strategy carries risks. The moment Shein moved from screens to streets, it became subject to the full force of local politics and cultural scrutiny. Further reading: Shein’s fast-fashion fight in France goes up a gear with sex doll scandal.