Record Business Failures in France in September 2025, Impacting Larger Enterprises and Industrials

In September 2025, France witnessed nearly 7,000 business failures, hitting a record not seen since the 2009 economic crisis, according to a study by Altares. This sharp rise contributed to a 5.2% year-on-year increase in business failures during the third quarter, totaling 14,371 cases from July to September. Since January, 50,700 businesses have collapsed, 1,600 more than the previous year, with very small enterprises and SMEs particularly affected — TPEs with over five employees saw a 9% increase and PMEs with 10 to 19 employees experienced a 13% rise. The manufacturing sector faced a 17% jump in failures, while business services rose by 9%. Crucially, failures are increasingly impacting larger companies, with 46 firms employing over 100 staff dissolving and endangering about 10,000 jobs. The industrial sector notably accounts for the highest number of employees supported by the Association for the Management of the Employee Claims Guarantee Scheme (AGS). AGS has paid out €1.7 billion in 2025, a 5.7% increase, and anticipates business failures could reach 69,000 by year-end. Cases opened with AGS climbed 5.7% in Q3, with average advances growing, signaling more complex economic difficulties. Antonin Blanckaert, AGS general director, highlighted that France closed more factories than it opened in 2024 and 2025, with a 75% rise in collective proceedings for industrial companies with over 50 employees. Despite the grim panorama, the proportion of judicial recoveries improved to 30% of procedures, up from less than a quarter in previous years, and sectors like construction and commerce have shown resilience with 2% growth each. Regionally, business failures surged markedly in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (+13.5%), Nouvelle-Aquitaine (+11.7%), and Centre-Val de Loire (+33.2%), though they declined in Brittany and PACA. Thierry Millon of Altares foresees cautious optimism for stabilization in the last quarter, setting the stage for potential improvements in 2026.