Business failures - France 2022Nov
Published on 14 December 2022
At the end of November, the normalization of the number of corporate bankruptcies continues.
- Initiated in the Fall of 2021, the rise in the number of corporate bankruptcies continues (see Figure 2). Over one year (between December 2021 and November 2022), it reaches 39,858 against 27,273 a year earlier (see Figure 1, as well as Tables A and B).
- This process of normalization is common to all sectors of the economy (see Chart 2) and slightly more pronounced for SMEs (see Table B).
- The number of corporate bankruptcies remains 22.1% lower than the level recorded in 2019 (51,145 corporate bankruptcies took place during the year 2019). Indeed, the number of corporate bankruptcies had been particularly low since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, due to the adoption of regulations temporarily granting additional time to both assess and report insolvency, and, later, cash support measures to avoid the occurrence of insolvency.
To find out more: data on business start-ups are reported by the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE): Business births on the INSEE's website
A - Corporate bankruptcies by sector![]()
Bankruptcies in number of legal units, year on year change (%)
| Aggregate over previous 12 months (a) (raw data) | ||||||||
| 2019 | Oct. 21 | Oct. 22 | Oct. 22/Oct. 21 | Oct. 22/2019 | Nov. 22 prov. | Nov. 22/Nov. 21 | Nov. 22/2019 | |
| Business sector | ||||||||
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing (AZ) | 1,414 | 1,078 | 1,135 | 5.3% | -19.7% | 1,115 | 3.3% | -21.1% |
| Industry (BE) | 3,436 | 1,793 | 2,768 | 54.4% | -19.4% | 2,856 | 57.4% | -16.9% |
| Construction (FZ) | 11,089 | 5,843 | 7,890 | 35.0% | -28.8% | 8,066 | 36.1% | -27.3% |
| Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (G) | 11,135 | 5,792 | 8,643 | 49.2% | -22.4% | 8,941 | 53.3% | -19.7% |
| Transportation and storage (H) | 2,097 | 1,155 | 1,675 | 45.0% | -20.1% | 1,687 | 44.4% | -19.6% |
| Accommodation and food service activities (I) | 6,840 | 2,643 | 4,862 | 84.0% | -28.9% | 5,088 | 93.8% | -25.6% |
| Information and communication (JZ) | 1,277 | 858 | 1,125 | 31.1% | -11.9% | 1,150 | 34.7% | -9.9% |
| Financial and insurance activities (KZ) | 1,087 | 629 | 905 | 43.9% | -16.7% | 955 | 55.0% | -12.1% |
| Real estate activities (LZ) | 1,631 | 1,218 | 1,305 | 7.1% | -20.0% | 1,325 | 9.2% | -18.8% |
| Advisory & Business support activities (MN) | 5,813 | 3,554 | 4,662 | 31.2% | -19.8% | 4,722 | 32.9% | -18.8% |
| Education, human health and social work services, Arts, entertainment and recreation, Other service activities (P to S) | 5,140 | 2,596 | 3,703 | 42.6% | -28.0% | 3,871 | 53.4% | -24.7% |
| All firms (b) | 51,145 | 27,228 | 38,754 | 42.3% | -24.2% | 39,858 | 46.1% | -22.1% |
Source: Banque de France - database: Fiben. Data available in early December 2022: final for October, provisional for November.
Calculation : Banque de France - Companies Directorate - Companies Observatory
a Aggregate number of corporate bankruptcies over the previous 12 months compared to the same aggregate one year before and in 2019 (January to December 2019).
b The line « All firms » includes legal units whose business sector is not known
Calculation : Banque de France - Companies Directorate - Companies Observatory
a Aggregate number of corporate bankruptcies over the previous 12 months compared to the same aggregate one year before and in 2019 (January to December 2019).
b The line « All firms » includes legal units whose business sector is not known
B - Corporate bankruptcies by firm size![]()
Bankruptcies in number of legal units, year on year change (%)
| Aggregate over previous 12 months (a) (raw data) | ||||||||
| 2019 | Oct. 21 | Oct. 22 | Oct. 22/Oct. 21 | Oct. 22/2019 | Nov. 22 prov. | Nov. 22/Nov. 21 | Nov. 22/2019 | |
| Size | ||||||||
| SME, among them | 51,119 | 27,207 | 38,724 | 42.3% | -24.2% | 39,828 | 46.2% | -22.1% |
| Micro-enterprises and unknown firm's size | 48,692 | 25,685 | 36,147 | 40.7% | -25.8% | 37,076 | 44.1% | -23.9% |
| Very small firms | 1,513 | 955 | 1,623 | 69.9% | 7.3% | 1,729 | 83.2% | 14.3% |
| Small firms | 664 | 407 | 718 | 76.4% | 8.1% | 772 | 82.9% | 16.3% |
| Medium-size firms | 250 | 160 | 236 | 47.5% | -5.6% | 251 | 59.9% | 0.4% |
| ISE - Large Firms | 26 | 21 | 30 | 42.9% | 15.4% | 30 | 30.4% | 15.4% |
| All firms | 51,145 | 27,228 | 38,754 | 42.3% | -24.2% | 39,858 | 46.1% | -22.1% |
Source: Banque de France - database: Fiben. Data available in early December 2022: final for October, provisional for November.
Calculation : Banque de France - Companies Directorate - Companies Observatory.
a Aggregate number of corporate bankruptcies over the previous 12 months compared to the same aggregate one year before and in 2019 (January to December 2019).
Calculation : Banque de France - Companies Directorate - Companies Observatory.
a Aggregate number of corporate bankruptcies over the previous 12 months compared to the same aggregate one year before and in 2019 (January to December 2019).
C - Changes in corporate bankruptcies![]()
1 - Number of bankruptcies
Cumulated over previous 12 months
From Dec. 1991 to October 2022 (+ November 2022 provisional)
Cumulated over previous 12 months
From Dec. 1991 to October 2022 (+ November 2022 provisional)
2 - Number of bankruptcies by sector
Cumulated over previous 12 months
From Dec. 2015 to October 2022 (+ November 2022 provisional)
Cumulated over previous 12 months
From Dec. 2015 to October 2022 (+ November 2022 provisional)
3 - Monthly number of bankruptcies
From Jan. 2019 to October 2022 (+ November 2022 provisional)
From Jan. 2019 to October 2022 (+ November 2022 provisional)
4 - Loan amounts of bankrupt non-financial firms over loan amount of all firms - by firm size
Cumulated over previous 12 months
From Dec. 2006 to October 2022 (+ November 2022 provisional)
(in %)
Cumulated over previous 12 months
From Dec. 2006 to October 2022 (+ November 2022 provisional)
(in %)
Source: Banque de France - database: Fiben. Data available in early December 2022: final for October, provisional for November.
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