Questionable French Fast-Fashion Law Seeks to Curb Shein and Temu
By Reuters | 29 Jun, 2026

After more than two years of discussion between the upper and lower houses of parliament lawmakers produced a law that complies with EU law to make ultra-fast-fashion companies subject to fines between €0.25 and €6 per product this year and as high as €10 per product in 2030.

France's Senate passed a revised version of a bill on Monday aimed at curbing online fast-fashion retailers such as Shein, Temu, which is owned by PDD Holdings, and AliExpress, after more than two years of debate and discussion between the upper and lower houses of parliament as lawmakers sought to create a text that complies with European Union law.

• Under the law, ultra-fast-fashion companies face fines between €0.25 and €6 per product this year, rising as high as €10 per product in 2030.

• The law also bans advertising by ultra-fast-fashion companies, and bans online influencers from promoting them.

• "What is at stake today is not just clothes, but the societal model we want to defend," said Serge Papin, minister for small enterprises, in a speech ahead of the vote. "The industry targeted by this bill is one that floods our markets with disposable fashion, with clothes worn only a few weeks before being thrown away".

• The law must still be promulgated by the president in order to be enforced.

• Shein said some measures of the bill "appear to retain inconsistencies with the applicable European framework governing digital services and e-commerce".

• The European Commission did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

• France's first version of the anti-fast-fashion bill was passed in March 2024 by the lower house while the next version, passed in June 2025 by the Senate, was more targeted with measures aimed at ultra-fast-fashion retailers targeting online-only platforms and excluding European fast-fashion players such as Zara and H&M.

• Spokespeople for Temu and for AliExpress did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Inti Landauro and Helen Reid; Editing by Edmund Klamann)