In France, business failures continue to rise in August

Business insolvencies continued their upward trend in August and are close to their 2019 level in all categories, before the Covid-19 pandemic, according to figures published Wednesday by the Banque de France. These failures concerned a total of 50,441 companies over the twelve months until the end of August, an increase of 41.5% compared to August 2022, compared to 51,145 in 2019. The number of companies placed in liquidation or in receivership is now only 1.4% lower than in 2019. Insolvencies had fallen to historically low levels with the business support measures taken during the health crisis, but their number has started to rise again since the start of 2022.

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With the exception of micro-enterprises, which account for more than 9 out of 10 failures, all other categories of businesses continue to be well above their pre-crisis level. Insolvencies exceed their 2019 level by 61.9% for very small businesses (VSE, fewer than 10 employees), 79.1% for small businesses (10 to 49 employees), and 55% for medium-sized businesses ( 50 to 249 employees) and 92.6% for mid-sized companies (ETI) and large groups. In this last category, 52 companies failed over the last twelve months, compared to 27 in 2019. The number of micro-enterprise failures increased by 38.9% in one year, but remains 4.8% lower to that of 2019.

By sector, insolvencies have increased the most over the past year in accommodation and catering with an increase of 66.5% compared to August 2022. These activities had been particularly protected by government aid during the health crisis due to measures closure to which they had been subject. The rebound in insolvencies also remains very strong in industry with an increase of 50% in one year, despite the government's desire to reindustrialize the country. In information and communication, the increase reached 47.3% and was 44.6% in financial and insurance activities.