France: intelligent protectionism faced with ultra fast fashion

Paris - Will protectionism become a condition for the survival of the French fashion industry? As the Trump administration relaunched its trade offensive against China in April 2025, imposing massive tariffs on imports, Europe braces for a shockwave that could hit its own market hard.

Earlier this week the Fédération Française du Prêt à Porter Féminin warned that, deprived of fluid access to the American market, some Chinese ultra fast fashion giants—such as Shein or Temu—could further redirect their flows towards the European continent. As a result pressure on local brands will increase, brands that already struggling against unfair competition on prices, deadlines, and social and environmental standards.

An alert signal launched by the French sector

It was in this context that the Fédération Française du Prêt à Porter Féminin published a press release on April 14 with a stern tone. It called on authorities to introduce “intelligent protectionism” to defend French businesses against this intensification of flows from ultra fast fashion.

“It is imperative to protect our industry, our jobs and our planet,” stressed Yann Rivoallan, president of the Fédération. He believes that regulating these ultra-aggressive players is no longer an option but a strategic necessity, at the crossroads of four emergencies: economic, social, commercial and environmental.

Risk of globalised dumping

This resurgence of international tensions reveals a paradox: the American protectionist measures intended to curb flows from Asia could, as a knock-on effect, accentuate Europe's vulnerability. Chinese platforms, with their ultra-agile models and supported by AI, would not fail to intensify their efforts towards less regulated markets.

The danger is therefore not simply that of a trade war between superpowers. It is also that of globalised dumping. Extremely low-priced products, with little or no compliance with European social or environmental standards, are already flooding e-commerce platforms, with direct consequences on margins, jobs and the quality of products offered to European consumers.

Towards offensive regulation

In this context, the French bill against ultra fast fashion, which will be voted on in the Senate on June 10, has taken on a geostrategic dimension. Supported by the Fédération, the bill aimed to regulate the practices of the sector's giants on several fronts: transparency on the production chain, environmental criteria and social responsibility.

The Fédération has called for the rapid adoption of the law, believing that this is the only way to guarantee a fair framework for French and European brands. The message is unequivocal: at a time when international trade is fracturing, France can not remain an open market without something in return.

A question of competitiveness… and sovereignty

Behind this demand for intelligent protectionism lies a central question: the economic sovereignty of the fashion sector in France. Faced with competition boosted by state subsidies, tax optimisation and derisory production costs, local businesses can not compete without structured political support.

It is not a question of closing borders, but of rethinking the rules of the game on a continental scale. Regulating ultra fast fashion is also about asserting a sustainable, ethical and strategic vision of what European fashion can - and must - become: a sector that innovates, that exports, but that protects itself intelligently.