Paris is raising its voice against Chinese low-cost e-commerce giants. Trade Minister Véronique Louwagie sent a letter to European Commissioner Michael McGrath on Tuesday calling for a strengthening of the Digital Services Act (DSA). The goal: to allow the European Commission to quickly delist platforms like Shein and Temu when they repeatedly flout safety and consumer protection rules. In concrete terms, this would involve removing them from search engines, without waiting for years of legal proceedings. This proposal comes as Brussels is already investigating AliExpress and Temu, suspected of marketing non-compliant products, and a coordinated procedure by member states is targeting Shein. French authorities insist on the urgency of action, pointing to both the danger of defective products and competition deemed unfair for European companies.
A sensitive political and economic lever
The idea is simple: expand the definition of "systemic risks" provided for by the DSA. These risks, currently linked to the dangerousness of products or online security breaches, would now include repeated non-compliance with European rules. If this failure is found, the Commission could then decide on delisting, thereby bypassing the current procedure, which is deemed too cumbersome. But the approach remains explosive. The targeted platforms attract millions of European consumers looking for low prices. Hitting them in the wallet by reducing their online visibility would be politically delicate, in a context where purchasing power remains a central concern. Bercy points out that some countries, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and Portugal, share this hard line, but the regulatory battle promises to be long.
The previous Wish and national limits
Why isn't France taking the initiative alone? The government struck hard in 2021 against Wish, which was delisted after inspections by the French Anti-Fraud Agency. But the comparison has its limits. Temu isn't a retailer per se, and Shein is struggling to comply with injunctions to stay within the rules. These legal subtleties make any unilateral action risky. Hence the desire to delegate this power directly to Brussels. A signal that would aim to harmonize the regulation of digital commerce in Europe and send a clear warning to the Chinese giants. But the road ahead remains fraught with pitfalls: revision of the DSA, negotiations between member states, resistance from platforms, and political decisions related to popular consumption. There's no guarantee, then, that Shein and Temu will ever see their names disappear from search engines, but France has opened the ball rolling in a European showdown.
