I dropped my phone, and while the screen survived, the side panels got incredibly scratchy. I didn’t yet have time to choose a proper phone cover as I read the official FP covers are not that excellent.
Can the side panel be replaced? Has anybody tried?
To my knowledge, the aluminium body of the phone and the general frame are not replaceable. Get the Tudia case and if you’re anything like me, once a case is on it never really comes off and you’ll forget about the sides 
I do not exactly but isn’t this the midframe?
So a replacement would cost roughly 63 EUR.
Or is this a different part?
Excellent find! 
And welcome to our community.
This must have been put online just very recently. 
The midframe sounds exactly like what @ceramicplanet would need, but very very very unfortunately you won’t be able to simply buy the part from Fairphone nor their repair contractor Cordon. You can only get it replaced on your existing FP5 by Cordon which adds some other fees on top of the 63 €. Just hiding the scratches with a case might indeed be a more economic option.
Thanks for the welcome 
I just had a similar question for myself as the paint of the frame is not very robust.
What comes on top except of the shipping fee? I would say 63 is a fair price
@chris1308 i think final price be lower, as on your link is listed price “part AND repair”, if you look at USB-C part+repair price is € 55.28, but only part listed on eshop is € 19.95
Thank you all!
I ended up getting the Tudia case, and it hides the damage well. The only complaint is that it makes the phone rather bulky, but maybe this is something one will get used to eventually. I got to say I was rather surprised by how fragile the side panels are!
It does add a bit of heft to the phone for sure, but you do get used to it. If I pick up any other phone now, it feels like a child’s toy in comparison to the FP5