This means 44,000 jobs will be lost by the end of the year. We look at what help is available for small business owners
According to recent estimates, some 64,427 companies will fail in France in 2024, compared to 56,965 in 2023.
By company size, Groupe BPCE, owner of the Banque Populaire and Crédit d’Épargne retail banking networks, says that 44,592 companies with between one and three workers will fail, compared to 14,486 with between three and nine employees and 5,349 with 10 or more workers.
While it is the largest companies that tend to attract French media attention, smaller companies account for more of the 44,000 jobs that are likely to disappear by the end of the year, Groupe BPCE says.
Over the years, the importance of small and very small businesses has filtered down to policymakers in Paris.
There is now official government advice on what to do. here. An English version is found by clicking on the language options box on the right side of the screen.
Number one on the list is delaying taxes and social security contributions.
there is a Commission of heads of financial services (CCSF) in each department, which can coordinate this; Very small businesses (defined by the government as those with fewer than 10 workers and less than €2 million in turnover or total assets) can submit a simplified application to get things going.
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How can CCSF help businesses?
Using the CCSF helps with administration as only a reduced payment is made in the event of late payments. The CCSF distributes it to the different fiscal and social service organizations interested.
There is a limit of 20 months for the deferral period for these contributions.
Government aid for businesses with fewer than 400 employees can also be obtained from organizations called Departmental Committee for Examination of Business Financing Problems (CODEFI).
Created in each prefecture, and therefore under the direct direction of the state and not the local government, the objective of CODEFI is to mobilize all state departments “to guide and inform companies in difficulty in all sectors.”
You can pay for an external audit of a company to diagnose the problem, find sources of financing to recover or restructure a company, and unlock state loans from economic and social development funds (FDES).
The final solution proposed on the government site is aimed at businesses that are having difficulty obtaining a bank loan or repaying loans.
It is best to act early when this happens and contact the Business credit mediation. It is part of Banque de France and the service is free, even for microentrepreneurs.
Once a file has been submitted and accepted by the service, it contacts the interested banks, with the full weight of the Banque de France behind it, and asks them to review their position in five days. Sometimes it works.
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Payment cessation
Once again, it is important to act early and before cessation of payment (stop paying debts).
banks and stores Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), could also offer aid to companies in difficulty.
Banks, in particular, often use help as a sales pitch when trying to get people to open business accounts.
But ask for recommendations: a few years ago, in Angoulême, in the Charente department, the president of the ICC was involved in a scandal and was prosecuted for profiting from the failure of companies by buying cheap assets and reselling them.
He and an auctioneer, who was also convicted, had close links to the local Commercial Court, one of the few courts where elected volunteer judges sit, with the requirement that they be heads of companies. Normally the judges are also close to the CCIs.
And there have been cases where companies have gone to banks for help, only to find that their accounts were immediately blocked.
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