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Chinese retailer Shein could have its access to the French market banned if it ever resumed the sale of child-like sex dolls, officials said on Monday. Shein pulled from sale childlike sex dolls after they were found on its website by the French consumer watchdog. France's Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs, and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) said late on Saturday it spotted the dolls on the website along with several other items such as sex dolls. It said it had reported the matter to judicial authorities. "Their description and categorization on the site leave little doubt as to the child pornography nature of the content," DGCCRF said in a statement. The agency added that no filtering measures effectively limit access on the website to this pornographic content for minors or sensitive audiences. On Monday French Finance Minister Roland Lescure told BFM TV: "If such conduct is repeated, we would be within our legal right to stop Shein's access to the French market." Contacted by Reuters over the weekend, Shein said in an email: "The products in question were immediately removed from the platform as soon as we became aware of these major shortcomings." It added that "Shein has a zero-tolerance policy towards any content or products that violate our internal policies or applicable laws". The Chinese fast-fashion company is set to open a physical store, its first in France, on Wednesday, at the Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville (BVH) in Paris. It has come under fire from conventional French apparel retailers, who say Shein is undermining their business model with its ultra-low prices. Shein also plans to open five other stores within Galeries Lafayette department stores, in Angers, Dijon, Grenoble, Limoges and Reims.
