On Wednesday, the French government announced it would suspend the Shein digital platform until the Asian e-commerce giant complies with French legislation amid controversy over the online sale of child-like sex dolls.
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This announcement was made while Shein was opening its first brick-and-mortar store in Paris, surrounded by a heavy police presence.
"At the direction of the prime minister, the government is initiating the process to suspend Shein until the platform demonstrates to the relevant authorities that all its content complies with French laws and regulations," said the office of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu.
"An initial review will be conducted by ministers within the next 48 hours."
Separately, the fast-fashion retailer announced it was suspending products from third-party sellers in France. A source close to the matter told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that this announcement was unrelated to the government's action against the online platform.
The discovery of sex dolls on Shein’s website sparked a political uproar in France.
The Paris prosecutor’s office opened investigations into Shein and rival online retailers AliExpress, Temu, and Wish over the sale of sex dolls.
Shein, founded in China in 2012 and now based in Singapore, has pledged to cooperate with French authorities and announced that it is banning all sex dolls from its platform.
In a new development, prosecutors announced the arrest of a man who was previously convicted of sexual assault after he ordered a child-like sex doll from China.
Employees of a delivery company in the southern town of Bouc-Bel-Air alerted the police after discovering a sex doll "in a package from China," according to prosecutors in Aix-en-Provence.
Prosecutor Jean-Luc Blachon told AFP that the parcel did not come from Shein.
The man, who was taken into custody, had previously been convicted of sexual assault and admitted to ordering the doll for sexual purposes, according to the prosecutor’s office.