Over a sliding 12-month period to the end of June 2025, the number of insolvencies (including the opening of receiverships and liquidations) will rise by +5.2%, compared with +11.8% at the end of March 2025, and +18% at the end of 2024. This confirms the trend towards a lull in insolvency activity, despite numerous economic uncertainties in France and abroad. The number of safeguard procedures fell by -4.8% over 12 months to end-June 2025, compared with end-June 2024.
From a regional point of view, at the end of June 2025, an increase in the number of insolvencies of +5%, equivalent to the national trend, is recorded for the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Occitanie and Hauts-de-France regions. The Ile-de-France region reported a +9.5% rise in the number of insolvencies, while other large regions such as Nouvelle Aquitaine, Pays de Loire and Normandie recorded increases in excess of 10%. On the other hand, the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and Grand-Est regions showed good resilience, reducing their number of insolvencies by -2.8% and -2.5% respectively.
From a sector point of view, the upward trend in the number of insolvencies is slowing for all business sectors at the end of June 2025. In the building and civil engineering sector, the increase in the number of insolvencies has been divided by five over a sliding 12-month period to the end of June 2025, compared with the trend to the end of 2024. Nevertheless, certain activities are still exceeding a 10% increase in the number of insolvencies, particularly Means of Transport (+10.6%), a victim of falling demand, Transport & Logistics (+16%), penalized by labor shortages and rising costs, and Mineral & Chemical Products (+16.8%), suffering from European environmental regulatory pressure and a lack of competitiveness vis-à-vis Asia.
But soaring business failures in French overseas departments and territories
Over a sliding 12-month period to the end of June 2025, the number of bankruptcies in the French Overseas Departments and Regions (DROM) will rise by more than 10%, compared to the end of 2024, i.e. almost double the increase recorded in mainland France.
The most striking increase in the number of insolvencies was recorded in French Guiana, at +127%. This trend was probably fuelled by industrial action in the major ports, which disrupted the supply chains of many businesses. In other territories, sales rose by +32% in Guadeloupe and +5.6% in Martinique. The increase is virtually non-existent on Reunion Island, which had posted a +27% increase between 2023 and 2024.
Entrepreneurial momentum maintained in France without excess
At the end of March 2025, over a sliding 12-month period, the Entrepreneurial Dynamism Index (EDI) was up slightly in France to 1.3, i.e., for every 1 company that disappears, 1.3 are created. The erosion in start-ups, probably fuelled by the late vote on the government budget and global trade tensions, weakens at the end of the first quarter of 2025.
Also at the end of March 2025, the number of business start-ups rose by +1.1% compared with the previous period (March 2023-March 2024); at the same time, the proportion of compulsory liquidations in the number of business closures reached 23.2%, slightly better than the 23.9% recorded at the end of 2024.
The Ile-de-France, Occitanie and Nouvelle Aquitaine regions show an EDI of 1.2, equivalent to the national index, while the Hauts-de-France, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Grand-Est regions maintain a higher index of 1.4, 1.3 and 1.3 respectively. The proportion of liquidations within disappearances varies considerably from one region to another. This share reaches 18% in Ile-de-France, but rises to over 25% in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, 33.8% in Grand-Est, and over 34% in Hauts-de-France.
With indexes of 3.9 and 4.5, the Financial Services and Energy sectors remain particularly buoyant, all the more so as the share of liquidations in company disappearances remains relatively low, at 12% and 11% respectively.
Means of transport, weakened by sluggish demand and lack of competitiveness, nonetheless retained a positive index at 1.2. Unfortunately, the already high share of liquidations in business disappearances has risen significantly in this sector, from 23.7% at the end of 2023 to over 26% at the end of 2024, with this percentage holding steady at the end of March 2025.
After two turbulent years, the building and civil engineering sector stabilized at the end of March 2025, with an index of 1, just shy of equilibrium. However, the rate of liquidations in disappearances remains high at 28.8% (29.3% at the end of December 2024).
The Retail sector, heavily impacted by inflation and the disappearance of banners, falls below the 0.9 renewal threshold at the end of March 2025.
... Some good results in French overseas departments and territories
Over the rolling 12 months to the end of March 2025, despite the slowdown in economic activity, the entrepreneurial dynamism index has stabilized in the DROMs at 1.1. The percentage of liquidations in business disappearances is now close to 13%, compared with 12.2% at the end of December 2024.
Over the same period, Martinique maintained an index of 1.3, while Reunion saw its index fall to 1.1. Guadeloupe, severely affected by excessive payment delays, particularly in the public sector, maintains a very low index of 0.6, preventing the renewal of its business population. Finally, despite the repercussions of Chido, Mayotte's entrepreneurial dynamism index rises to 3.7 at the end of March 2025, compared with 3.5 at the end of December 2024. The share of liquidations in business disappearances improves very significantly, reaching 11.9% at the end of March 2025, compared with 20.6% at the end of December 2024.
