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Shoppers and protesters faced off across the Rue de Rivoli. I made my way through the crowds, dodging police and fellow journalists — including a TV crew who were on the receiving end of a rather colorful send-off when they tried to get a close-up shot of some shoppers — before heading indoors. Some said they had braved the line simply out of curiosity. "I just came here because there was a kind of strike in front of the shop," one visitor, Owen, told me inside the store. "I never knew Shein before." Signs at the entrance to the shop gave visitors a sense of Shein's goals for the space. "You are here, in Shein's first physical store. Right in the heart of Paris," it reads. "Our mission: to bring meaning back to retail. Here, you can see, touch, try, feel." Inside, I found all the usual trappings of a 2025 store opening. A DJ, a bar (although sadly the strongest drink on offer was a mocktail), and a sea of phones and cameras. People seemed to be in high spirits as they combed through the racks and rails for the best deals. One shopper, Thierry, told me he thought Shein offered a "very good deal for people with low salaries." On the protesters outside, he added that he believed many were "hypocrites." "The majority of people who complain are the first ones online, buying on Temu, on eBay, on Shein, on AliExpress," he said. "They go home, the first thing they do is go online to buy things cheaper, so it's hypocritical." Another shopper, Philippe, said prices seemed a bit steeper than those he'd seen online. First-time Shein shopper Owen said he was "disappointed" in the quality of the products in the store. "I thought it would be more cleverly designed. It's just a usual shop, no surprising stuff," he added. One of the people joining the protest was Pierre from Friends of the Earth, a grassroots environmental organisation. "We are opposing the model of fast fashion that is detrimental to human rights and to the environment," he told me, adding that Shein was "one of the most iconic brands of fast fashion." Shein has faced widespread criticism for the environmental impact of its ultra-fast, low-cost fashion model, which critics say fuels the climate crisis and a throwaway culture. The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, said in a post on LinkedIn in October that the city "condemns the arrival of Shein, a symbol of fast fashion, at BHV Marais." "This choice goes against Paris's ecological and social ambitions, which support responsible and sustainable local commerce," she added. Another attendee, Merdan, said he was there to protest the store opening over Shein's labor practices. Shein has faced allegations from campaign groups that its supply chains have been linked to cases of forced labor. The company has said that it enforces "stringent requirements" on its suppliers "to comply with health and safety, labour and social welfare, and environmental standards, as well as applicable laws and regulations."
