Between the cost of energy, political instability and social problems, only one company in 10 in France plans to grow its activity

French companies display marked pessimism about the current economic situation and are worried about an extension of payment terms for their customers, according to a study published this Tuesday by the Arc firm, carried out with Ifop. According to this survey conducted in September among 500 companies with 50 employees or more, 92% of respondents are convinced that the French economic situation will deteriorate over the next six months. At the same time, 82% consider that the situation of businesses has deteriorated over the past year, or 11 points more than at the end of 2025.

Concerns are mainly fueled by the rise in the cost of energy, cited by 83% of companies, ahead of political instability (67%), difficulties linked to employment and social problems (61%), and the increase in tax pressure (53%). Extended payment terms Individually, 61% of companies are still counting on stability in their activity over the next six months, but this proportion has fallen by eleven points over one year. Conversely, 28% anticipate a decline in their activity (+3 points in six months, +10 in one year), while only 11% envisage growth.

“Our study highlights a particularly marked pessimism,” underlines Denis Le Bossé, president of the Arc firm. “On the ground,” he observes, “cash flow tensions translate directly into payment practices,” an area particularly monitored by the law firm, which specializes in debt recovery. Indeed, to meet their liquidity needs, 83% of companies say they extend payment terms to their suppliers, an increase of eight points over one year, far ahead of the use of bank overdrafts (47%).

Furthermore, 93% of respondents believe that their customers' payment terms have not improved and 38% believe that they have deteriorated. In addition, for fear of not being paid or experiencing excessive payment delays, 57% of SMEs say they are giving up responding to public sector calls for tender (+6 points in six months, +12 in one year). “The extension of payment terms cannot sustainably constitute a response to cash flow needs (...

) it weakens the entire economic chain,” warns Denis Le Bossé.

Machine-translated from French