Business failures - France - 2026-04
Published on 5th of June 2026
At the end of April, the number of corporate bankruptcies continues to rise slightly
- At the end of April 2026, the number of corporate bankruptcies over the last twelve months amounted to 70,228 (see graph 1), still showing a slight increase compared with the March 2026 figure (69,978 based on revised data (1)).
- This slight increase is observed in most sectors and the majority of business sectors (see Table A and B).
- The rise in corporate bankruptcies can be partly attributed to a deterioration in economic conditions, due in particular to successive shocks and increased uncertainty, which have weakened companies' financial positions since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic.
- It also comes at a time when the corporate population continues to grow. According to INSEE, more than 1.2 million enterprises were created at the end of April 2026 over a sliding 12-month period, up 9.3% compared with the cumulative 12 months to the end of April 2025.
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) | ||||||||
| Mean 2010-2019 | Mar. 26 | Mar. 26/Mar. 25 | Mar. 26/2010-2019 | Apr. 25 | Apr. 26 | Apr. 26/Apr. 25 | Apr. 26/2010-2019 | |
| Business sector | ||||||||
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing (AZ) | 1,359 | 1,742 | 16.4% | 28.2% | 1,485 | 1,740 | 17.2% | 28.0% |
| Industry (BE) | 4,442 | 4,479 | 5.6% | 0.8% | 4,282 | 4,465 | 4.3% | 0.5% |
| Construction (FZ) | 14,684 | 14,567 | -1.6% | -0.8% | 14,893 | 14,607 | -1.9% | -0.5% |
| Wholesale and retail trade repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (G) | 13,071 | 14,050 | 3.0% | 7.5% | 13,867 | 13,953 | 0.6% | 6.7% |
| Transportation and storage (H) | 1,902 | 3,294 | 9.6% | 73.2% | 3,034 | 3,292 | 8.5% | 73.1% |
| Accommodation and food service activities (I) | 7,374 | 9,466 | 7.2% | 28.4% | 8,893 | 9,518 | 7.0% | 29.1% |
| Information and communication (JZ) | 1,480 | 2,121 | 3.0% | 43.3% | 2,090 | 2,127 | 1.8% | 43.7% |
| Financial and insurance activities (KZ) | 1,150 | 1,692 | 2.4% | 47.1% | 1,659 | 1,694 | 2.1% | 47.3% |
| Real estate activities (LZ) | 1,984 | 2,565 | 1.3% | 29.3% | 2,512 | 2,603 | 3.6% | 31.2% |
| Advisory & Business support activities (MN) | 6,379 | 8,798 | 8.6% | 37.9% | 8,169 | 8,927 | 9.3% | 39.9% |
| Education, human health and social work services, Arts, entertainment and recreation, Other service activities (P to S) | 5,311 | 7,044 | 15.6% | 32.6% | 6,144 | 7,133 | 16.1% | 34.3% |
| All firms (b) | 59,342 | 69,978 | 5.1% | 17.9% | 67,137 | 70,228 | 4.6% | 18.3% |
Source: Banque de France - database: Fiben. Data available at the beginning of June 2026.
Calculation: Banque de France - Companies Directorate - Companies Observatory.
(a) Aggregate number of corporate bankruptcies over previous 12 months compared to the same aggregate one year before and with the 2010-2019 mean.
(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 previous 12 months compared to the same aggregate one year before and with the 2010-2019 mean.
(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) | ||||||||
| Mean 2010-2019 | Mar. 26 | Mar. 26/Mar. 25 | Mar. 26/2010-2019 | Apr. 25 | Apr. 26 | Apr. 26/Apr. 25 | Apr. 26/2010-2019 | |
| Size | ||||||||
| SME, among them | 59,309 | 69,910 | 5.1% | 17.9% | 67,078 | 70,157 | 4.6% | 18.3% |
| Micro-enterprises and unknown firm's size | 56,059 | 64,378 | 4.7% | 14.8% | 61,946 | 64,625 | 4.3% | 15.3% |
| Very small firms | 2,011 | 3,489 | 11.5% | 73.5% | 3,183 | 3,475 | 9.2% | 72.8% |
| Small firms | 910 | 1,527 | 6.6% | 67.8% | 1,452 | 1,531 | 5.4% | 68.2% |
| Medium-size firms | 329 | 516 | 7.1% | 56.8% | 497 | 526 | 5.8% | 59.9% |
| ISE - Large Firms | 33 | 68 | 15.3% | 106.1% | 59 | 71 | 20.3% | 115.2% |
| All firms | 59,342 | 69,978 | 5.1% | 17.9% | 67,137 | 70,228 | 4.6% | 18.3% |
Source: Banque de France - database: Fiben. Data available at the beginning of June 2026.
Calculation: Banque de France - Companies Directorate - Companies Observatory.
(a) Aggregate number of corporate bankruptcies over previous 12 months compared to the same aggregate one year before and with the 2010-2019 mean
Calculation: Banque de France - Companies Directorate - Companies Observatory.
(a) Aggregate number of corporate bankruptcies over previous 12 months compared to the same aggregate one year before and with the 2010-2019 mean
C - Changes in corporate bankruptcies![]()
1 - Number of bankruptcies
Cumulated over previous 12 months
From Dec. 1991 to April 2026
Cumulated over previous 12 months
From Dec. 1991 to April 2026
Note: The orange line represents the average value of the number of corporate bankruptcies over twelve months observed monthly between January 2010 and December 2019.
2 - Change in number of bankruptcies
Annual year-on-year change
From Dec. 2006 to April 2026
(in %)
Annual year-on-year change
From Dec. 2006 to April 2026
(in %)
3 - Monthly number of bankruptcies
Mean 2010-2019, Mean 2020-2022
and from Jan. 2023 to April 2026
Mean 2010-2019, Mean 2020-2022
and from Jan. 2023 to April 2026
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 April 2026
(in %)
Cumulated over previous 12 months
From Dec. 2006 to April 2026
(in %)
Note: the sharp rise in the weighting of outstanding loans in the Very small businesses category between April 2024 and March 2025 reversed in April 2025 due to the removal of a legal unit bankrupted in April 2024, and classified in this category due to a low number of employees.
Source: Banque de France - database: Fiben. Data available at the beginning of June 2026.
Download the PDF version of the document
EN_Stat_Info_Corporate_Bankruptcies_202604.pdf
Updated on the 8th of June 2026