Record number of corporate bankruptcies in France in 2023

Over 55,000 French businesses closed their doors in 2023, the Bank of France says.

More than 55,000 businesses were shut down in France in 2023, marking a record high for company closures since 2017, according to data compiled at the close of December by the Bank of France.

The statistics released by the regulator on Saturday show that 55,492 companies, on average, have faced bankruptcy or liquidation over the past 12 months.

Although the recorded surge in closures was significant, the Bank of France noted that the level is still below the average annual bankruptcy filings of 59,342 scored between 2010 and 2019. The pandemic years saw a considerably lower number of companies going out of business, almost half of the current figures.

According to the report, mostly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were bearing the brunt of the closures in 2023. Businesses, employing up to 250 people, accounted for vast majority of the total, with 55,435 closures.

Meanwhile, medium and large firms with over 250 employees, also saw an increase in closures, the regulator noted, adding that their numbers reached 57, doubling from 2022.

The negative trend became the most notable in the restaurant and hotel business, where the number of busts surged 44.6% year-on-year, while the sector of information and communication technologies saw an increase of 44.4%.

The country’s agricultural sector was the only one recording a drop of 1.3% in the number of bankruptcy filings.

In December, the Financial Times reported that the number of corporate bankruptcies across the world exceeded levels reached during the 2008 global financial crisis.

Analysts attribute the surge to higher key rates, as well as self-liquidation of so-called ‘zombie firms,’ which had pulled through the Covid era only thanks to government support.

Image credit: Tim Mossholder