We all know that Parisians are very proud of their city. After all, Paris has been the capital of haute couture and timeless design for centuries. That’s why they were up in arms when one of the titans of Chinese fashion decided to open its first permanent physical store in the world. To do so, it chose the sixth floor of the historic Bazar de l’Hôtel de Ville, a majestic building located directly across from Paris City Hall. We assume this is the equivalent of slapping Parisians in the face, who, since the reign of Louis XIV, had felt like the kings of the fashion world.
At the center of all this controversy is Shein, the online giant of ultra-fast fashion that promises clothing at ridiculous prices in all sizes, and with fabrics that fall far short of European quality standards—or at least, standards for heavy metals and pesticides. France may be the cradle of Western haute couture, but the average French person is broke and buying hauls on the Shein app.
Provocation becomes a physical store
If they already seem like snobs, we can’t imagine how they must be foaming at the mouth to see such a “vulgar and cheap” store being put in such an iconic location. The fact is, if no one likes having a store selling poor-quality goods in their neighborhood, we can’t imagine how they must feel seeing one opened in one of the most iconic locations in the city of love. It goes completely against their municipal policy of supporting independent stores and “Made in France” products.
But it’s a free market, and if Shein has decided to rent the 6th floor of the BHV Marais—and we know it must have paid a hefty sum for it—no city council or activist group can stop it. France may be statist and interventionist, but it has no power to interfere in commercial lease agreements between private companies… yet.
However, this does not mean that the opening scheduled for today, Wednesday, November 5, 2025, is not met with widespread outrage. Ethical brands have announced boycotts against the mall, and the mall’s own employees have staged strikes. It seems that the fashion capital is a little bit against the radical—and controversial—democratization of the average Parisian’s wardrobe.
That doesn’t mean it isn’t making life difficult for BHV: the shoe brand Odaje has withdrawn its products from the department store. Similarly, Disneyland Paris has canceled its plans for traumatic Christmas decorations in the store. The echoes of this boycott have also reached the world of high finance, as a French state-owned bank has withdrawn from negotiations to purchase the historic BHV building. The City Council, for its part, blocked plans for a Paris rugby stadium to bear the BHV logo. We’ll see who wins the battle.
The Reality of French Consumers
Cultural outrage clashes with the reality of the numbers. France has historically been the home of luxury and good taste, but the average citizen has a limited budget and buys their wardrobe accordingly. Ethical fashion with limited, high-quality pieces—and higher prices—is not within reach for many. Second-hand clothing platforms work quite well, but there is an economic gap that Shein has managed to fill perfectly.
Shein has approximately 23 million customers in France alone; that makes it one of its biggest markets in the whole European continent. By 2023, it had established itself as the second-largest clothing brand in France, ahead of H&M and Primark and almost reaching the same selling figures as Zara itself. In the second quarter of 2024 alone, the Shein app registered more than 11.7 million active French users. If there’s one thing we can learn from all this, it’s that your mouth can say one thing… and your wallet another.
For now, the Chinese company seems unconcerned by all the threats, as sales figures in this country are quite telling. The thing is, will a physical retail store make sense, when Shein’s attractive feature is buying online from your phone while you are wearing pjs on your sofa at home? We might start suspecting Shein has gone through all these trouble just to spite the French!