France moves to suspend Shein's online market over listings for illegal weapons and sex dolls

PARIS (AP) — France’s government said Wednesday it is moving toward suspending access to the Shein online marketplace until it proves its content conforms to French law, after authorities found illegal weapons and child-like sex dolls for sale on the fast-fashion giant’s website.

The Finance Ministry said the government made the decision after officials found “large quantities” of illegal “Class A” weapons on Shein's popular e-commerce platform Wednesday, following the discovery last week of illegal sex dolls with childlike characteristics. The ministry did not detail which weapons were found, but the Class A includes firearms, knives and machetes as well as war material.

The ministry said if the prohibited items remain, authorities may suspend the site in France.

The decision came on the same day that Shein opened its first permanent store in Paris inside one of the city’s most iconic department stores. The opening drew crowds of shoppers to the BHV Marais, but also a small group of protesters who briefly disrupted the opening by waving anti-Shein signs before they were escorted out by security.

The ministry did not say whether its decision would impact the physical store. It added that a first progress report would be provided within 48 hours.

Shein, founded in China in 2012 and now based in Singapore, pledged to work with French authorities to “address any concerns swiftly as we have always done and we are seeking dialogue with the authorities and government bodies on this issue."

French authorities can order online platforms to remove clearly illegal content, such as child sexual abuse materials, within 24 hours. If they fail to comply, authorities can require internet service providers and search engines to block access and delist the site.

Ordering from Shein's French website was still possible Wednesday following the government’s announcement.

Frédéric Merlin, president of Société des Grands Magasins (SGM,) which owns the BHV department store, praised the government's move. “I am satisfied with this decision and I hope that, in the end, we will be able to stop selling illicit products on these marketplaces,” Merlin said.

Still, the backlash over the sex doll listings could be a “massive red flag” to investors and become a roadblock to the company’s ambitions of going public, according to Neil Saunders, managing director of research firm GlobalData.

The episode feeds into the view that Chinese-founded marketplaces "are the Wild West of e-commerce, where there is very little compliance, and they don’t really adhere to established rules, that they don’t have full control over the platforms,” Saunders said. “And that is a problem because if you’re looking to expand, you have to abide by national laws.”

Saunders noted there’s a big difference in having counterfeit merchandise and questionable merchandise on a site. Child sexual abuse material “crosses an important moral boundary,” he said.

SGM has called the sale of the sex dolls unacceptable, but praised Shein for its swift response to defuse the controversy.

Shein said earlier that it has banned all sex-doll products, and temporarily removed its adult products category for review. The company had also announced that it would temporarily suspend listings from independent third-party vendors in its marketplace, and launched an investigation to determine how the dolls listings bypassed its screening measures.

Even before the backlash over the sex doll listings, the decision by Shein to launch its first physical store in the heart of France’s fashion capital had faced criticism from environmental groups, Paris City Hall and France’s ready-to-wear industry.

The retail giant has long drawn criticism over its poor green credentials and labor practices. An online petition opposing the Paris opening surpassed 120,000 signatures

Ticia Ones, a regular Shein online customer living in Paris, said the main reason she visited the store on Wednesday was the opportunity to see items in person before buying.

“We can see what we order, touch the items, it's a good thing,” she said, adding that the brand's low prices were a strong draw despite the controversy. “I'm not going to comment on the quality, but price is definitely appealing.”

The BHV store has been going through financial struggles in recent years and its owners believe the arrival of Shein will help revive business — even as some brands have chosen to leave the store in protest.

“We are proud to have a partner who has spoken out firmly," said Karl-Stéphane Cottendin, the chief operating officer of SGM. "We are very happy to be opening the boutique.”

Shein has risen rapidly to become a global fast-fashion giant. Selling mostly Chinese-made clothes and products at bargain prices, the retailer has drawn criticism over allegations that its supply chains may be tainted by forced labor, including from China’s far-west Xinjiang province, where rights groups say serious human rights abuses were committed by Beijing against members of the ethnic Uyghur group and other Muslim minorities.

Cottendin dismissed those concerns and praised Shein for doing a “tremendous job” to improve its practices.

“Today, it’s a brand that produces under much more legitimate conditions,” he said. "We ensured that the entire production chain, from manufacturing to delivery, complies strictly with French and European regulations and standards.”

Fast fashion, characterized by a constant turnover of collections and very low prices, has flooded European markets with low-quality items, driving environmental, social, and economic costs. The United Nations has warned that the textile industry alone is responsible for nearly 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions and contributes to water depletion.

France is now moving to curb the growing influence of companies based in Asian countries such as Shein, Temu and AliExpress. A draft law targets fast fashion with measures such as consumer awareness campaigns, advertising bans, taxes on small imported parcels and stricter waste management rules.

“It’s a black day for our industry,” said Thibaut Ledunois, director of entrepreneurship and innovation at the French federation of women’s ready-to-wear. He added that Shein's Paris opening was an attempt to justify "all the bad, and sad and horrible business that they develop all around the world.”

A protester holds a placard reading "No style worth slavery" in the BHV department store as fast fashion Shein opens its first physical store, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

A protester is being evacuated from the BHV department store as fast fashion Shein opens its first physical store, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

People visit the BHV department store as fast fashion powerhouse Shein opens its first permanent store, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Frederic Merlin, CEO of SGM group which owns the BHV department store, answers reporters before fast fashion powerhouse Shein opens its first permanent store Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

The director of the Bazar de l'Hotel de Ville (BHV) department store Karl-Stephane Cottendin cuts the ribbon at the opening Shein's first physical store in Paris, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. ( Dimitar Dilkoff, Pool via AP)

Demonstrators holds posters outside the BHV department store where fast fashion powerhouse Shein's first permanent store is set to open, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Clothes by Chinese company Shein hang in the BHV (Bazar de l'Hotel de Ville) general store, ahead of the Shein stand opening, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

BHV (Bazar de l'Hotel de Ville) general store director Karl-Stephane Cottendin answers reporters ahead of the Chinese company Shein stand opening inside the BHV, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

A demonstrator holds a poster reading "Shame on Shein" outside the BHV department store where fast fashion powerhouse Shein's first permanent store is set to open, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Clothes by Chinese company Shein are seen in the BHV (Bazar de l'Hotel de Ville) general store, ahead of the Shein stand opening, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia closed the only road linking it to Bahrain on Tuesday after Iranian fired missiles at its oil-rich Eastern Province. Tehran's latest strikes came as Iranian officials urged youths to form human chains around power plants to protect them, as the latest deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz drew closer.

Trump has threatened to bomb all of Iran's power plants and bridges if Iran does not meet his Tuesday 8 p.m. EDT deadline to allow shipping traffic to fully resume through the strategic waterway, through which a fifth of the world's oil transits in peacetime.

“The entire country can be taken out in one night,” Trump said.

Iran choked off shipping through the strait after Israel and the U.S. attacked on Feb. 28, starting the war. On Monday, Tehran rejected a 45-day ceasefire proposal and said it wants a permanent end to the war.

Early Tuesday, Tehran launched seven ballistic missiles at Saudi Arabia, which authorities said rained debris on the ground near energy facilities as they were intercepted. Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki said the damage was being assessed.

In the meantime, Saudi Arabia said it was closing the King Fahd Causeway, a bridge that links Saudi Arabia to the island kingdom of Bahrain over the threat of more Iranian attacks targeting the Eastern Province.

The 25-kilometer (15.5 mile) bridge is the only connection by road for Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, to the Arabian Peninsula.

Elsewhere, activists reported a new wave of strikes on Tehran, for which Israel later claimed responsibility. Iran also fired on Israel, with reports of incoming missiles.

Iran's attacks on the energy infrastructure of its Gulf Arab neighbors, coupled with its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, has sent oil prices skyrocketing and is causing global economic problems.

In early spot trading, Brent crude, the international standard, was above $111 per barrel, up more than 50% since the start of the war.

Under growing pressure at home as consumers feel the pinch, Trump has demanded that Iran open the Strait of Hormuz to all shipping traffic or see power plants and bridges wiped out. The threat to hit civilian infrastructure has sparked widespread warnings about possible war crimes.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Tuesday urged Trump not to follow through, saying the “focus needs to be on not seeing this conflict expand any further.”

“Any of those actions including bombing bridges and reservoirs and civilian infrastructure would be unacceptable,” Luxon told Radio New Zealand.

Iran sought to up the ante, calling on “all young people, athletes, artists, students and university students and their professors” to form human chains around power plants ahead of the threatened strikes.

“Power plants that are our national assets and capital, regardless of any taste or political viewpoint, belong to the future of Iran and to the Iranian youth,” Alireza Rahimi, identified by Iranian state television as the secretary of the Supreme Council of Youth and Adolescents, said as he issued the video call in a newscast.

Iran has formed human chains in the past around its nuclear sites at times of heightened tensions with the West.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned the U.S. that attacks on civilian infrastructure are banned under international law, according to his spokesperson. Trump, speaking with reporters, said he’s “not at all” concerned about committing war crimes with such attacks.

As the deadline neared, efforts were still underway to reach a negotiated solution. Even though Iran has rejected the latest proposal from the U.S., officials involved in the diplomacy say that talks are still ongoing.

More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began, but the government has not updated the toll for days.

More than 1,400 people have been killed in Lebanon and more than 1 million people have been displaced. Eleven Israeli soldiers have died there.

In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 23 have been reported dead in Israel and 13 U.S. service members have been killed.

Japan said Tuesday that one of its citizens who had been detained in Iran since January had been released on bail. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters in Tokyo that Japan is demanding his full release from Iranian authorities.

Rising reported from Bangkok. Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and Rod McGuirk in Melbourne, Australia, contributed to this report.

People drive their motorbikes past a billboard that shows a graphic depicting Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, April 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Displaced people wait to receive donated food beside the tents they use as shelters after fleeing Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon, in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, April 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A man inspects the damage to cars and an apartment building struck by an Iranian missile in Ramat Gan, Israel, Monday, April 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)