France Takes Legal Action Against AliExpress and Joom Over Illicit Trade Practices

The French government, represented by Serge Papen, the Minister for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Trade, Crafts, Tourism, and Consumer Purchasing Power, has officially initiated legal proceedings against the major e-commerce platforms AliExpress and Joom. This significant regulatory move was announced on Wednesday, November 26, 2025, during a broadcast on the TF1 television channel, signaling an escalation in regulatory scrutiny within the nation.

Minister Serge Papen, who assumed his ministerial duties on October 12, 2025, clarified that the lawsuits stem from the discovery of illegal trade activities, specifically involving goods potentially linked to child exploitation. This particular accusation represents a departure from previous, more general infractions cited against other market participants. It underscores a strategic shift from merely reacting to and removing problematic content toward demanding systemic accountability from the platform operators themselves.

These actions targeting the Chinese giant AliExpress and the Latvian-based Joom follow intense regulatory focus already placed upon Shein, which faced substantial penalties throughout 2025. Earlier in September 2025, France's data protection authority, Cnil, levied a €150 million fine against Shein for non-compliance with cookie legislation. Furthermore, in July 2025, the company was penalized €40 million for misleading consumers about its commercial operations. Authorities in Paris are also currently considering a potential three-month suspension of Shein's operations in the country.

A pivotal point raised by the government centers on the obligation for platforms to proactively verify that new products comply with regulations before they are listed, rather than simply deleting items only after they have been flagged as illegal. Minister Papen emphasized that this enforcement drive is fundamentally about safeguarding consumers, protecting young people, and supporting domestic industry. This aligns perfectly with the broader regulatory framework for e-commerce that the administration had previously unveiled earlier in 2025.

Meanwhile, AliExpress stated it had removed the contested listings following the commencement of an internal review in early November 2025. However, the French government remains firm on the necessity of a unified, European-wide strategy to tackle these deep-seated systemic issues. This stance reflects a growing trend across Europe toward heightened digital oversight, evidenced by France's readiness to fully implement the Digital Services Act (DSA) throughout 2025.

These economic realities are set against the backdrop of France's massive e-commerce turnover, which reached €175.3 billion in 2024. This scale highlights the critical importance of product safety enforcement. Minister Papen stressed the need for the European Union to address this challenge collectively, recognizing that the problem transcends national borders and demands coordinated international action to resolve effectively.