France’s top official for child protection has called for checks on people who purchase "childlike" sex dolls online, amid growing outrage over their sale on major e-commerce platforms – including fast-fashion giant Shein, which has already been reported to prosecutors.
Sarah El Haïry, the French government’s High Commissioner for Children, said on Monday that she wanted authorities to investigate whether any children might be at risk in the homes of buyers of what she called “paedocriminal objects”.
“These dolls are training tools for predators – and unfortunately, sometimes the first step before moving on to actual abuse,” she said in an interview with BFMTV.
“When you buy something as vile as this, there’s a heightened risk of acting out. That means children nearby could be in danger, and they must be protected.”
El Haïry urged online platforms to share information about customers who have purchased such dolls, to allow authorities to carry out checks where needed. “We need to follow the chain right through – from suppliers to the men who keep these horrors in their homes, sometimes with children sleeping in the next room,” she said. “Enough is enough. These are not ordinary objects.”
Her comments come after France’s anti-fraud watchdog, the DGCCRF, said over the weekend that it had referred Shein to prosecutors for selling what it described as “sex dolls with a childlike appearance.”
In a statement, the DGCCRF said the “description and categorisation” of the products on Shein’s website “make it difficult to doubt the child pornography nature of the content”. The watchdog noted that the dolls were around 80 centimetres tall and had been marketed with explicitly sexual captions – one even pictured holding a teddy bear.
“Imagine a child stumbling across these products while browsing for a doll,” said DGCCRF official Alice Vilcot-Dutarte, quoted by Le Parisien.
Shein responded quickly, announcing that the dolls had been removed from its French site and that an internal inquiry was under way.
French Finance Minister Roland Lescure warned Monday he would move to ban the company from the French market if the items returned online.
"These horrible items are illegal," he told the BFMTV broadcaster, promising a judicial investigation.
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A troubled track record
This latest scandal adds to a long list of troubles for the Singapore-based retailer, which was originally founded in China.
French authorities have already fined Shein three times in 2025, totalling €191 million, for false advertising, cookie law violations, misleading information and failure to declare the presence of microplastics in its clothing.
The European Commission is also investigating the company over potential risks linked to illegal or unsafe products, while EU lawmakers have adopted new rules aimed at tackling the environmental footprint of the fast-fashion industry – a model in which Shein has played a leading role.
Adding to the controversy, Shein is due to open its first ever physical outlet in France this week, inside the upmarket BHV Marais department store in central Paris.
The move has already sparked backlash from customers and fashion brands alike – several of which have reportedly pulled their products in protest.
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Protecting children first
El Haïry said she wanted to ensure that anyone found possessing such dolls would be treated with the same seriousness as those caught with child abuse images. “We know that the possession of paedocriminal images can lead to acting out. The same must apply to paedocriminal objects,” she said.
She stressed that “every three minutes, a child suffers sexual violence” in France – a statistic she cited to underline the urgency of taking preventive action.
Her call reflects a broader political push to hold both platforms and users accountable in the digital age. “We need to go to the end of the chain this time,” she insisted. “My goal is not only to stop the suppliers, but also to protect the children who might be living right next door.”
(With newswires)
