« Prevention » appointment with the president of the court

Verified 17 June 2026 - Entreprendre Service Public / (Prime Minister)

The President of the Commercial Court, the Economic Activities Court or the Judicial Court shall be entrusted with the task of preventing company difficulties. In this context, it can summon the head of company to an interview when he detects difficulties. We're talking about thealert of the president of the tribunal. In addition, the head of company may spontaneously request an interview with the president of the tribunal to take stock of his situation.

Convocation to an interview

The court (commercial or judicial) has a prevention mission difficulties of the companies. He assists, accompanies and guides the heads of company in order to prevent the occurrence of cessation of payments.

Since the 1er January 2025, the commercial courts of 12 cities are replaced by economic activity tribunals (EABs) for the prevention of difficulties of companies, for the treatment of ad hoc mandate, of conciliation and collective proceedings. The courts of the following cities are concerned: Avignon, Auxerre, Le Havre, Le Mans, Limoges, Lyon, Marseille, Nancy, Nanterre, Paris, Saint-Brieuc and Versailles. The Ministry of Justice shall make available a simulator to determine the competent court:

Know the competent court for the procedures of prevention or treatment of difficulties

The president of the court has the option of summoning the head of company for an « awareness » interview if he has reason to believe that the company is experiencing difficulties. These are economic, financial or legal difficulties that can compromise the continuity of the operation.

Signs of the company's difficulties include:

  • Own funds negatives
  • Inscriptions of privileges from the Urssaf and the Treasury to the Registry of the Court: the Urssaf lien and the Treasury lien are preferential rights that allow the Urssaf and the Treasury to register their outstanding debts with the Registry of the Court when they exceed a certain amount: €20,000 for Urssaf and €200,000 for the Treasury.
  • Failure to filing of annual accounts
  • Loss of half of capital and lack of regularization subsequent thereto
  • Injunctions to pay repeated
  • Significant number of security rights (such as liens and pledges) registered in the security rights registry

FYI  

Alert is a procedure that remains optional from the president of the tribunal.

The President of the Commercial Court, Economic Activities or Judiciary summons the Head of company by registered letter with and by letter. This notice shall include a note in which he shall state the reasons for his request for an interview.

The summons is sent to less than 1 month in advance.

The head of company shall attend the interview or refuse to attend.

The head of company must present in person to maintenance. He has the possibility of being assisted by a lawyer or a chartered accountant.

During the interview, the president of the court inquires about the situation of the company and asks the manager what measures are envisaged to rectify the situation of the company. It also informs the manager of the existence of various preventive procedures such as ad hoc mandate and the procedure for conciliation.

This interview is confidential. A record is drawn up but it only mentions the date, the place and the identity of the persons present.

At the end of the interview, different situations may arise:

  • The measures envisaged by the Head of company appear sufficient, or the continuity of the operation is not compromised. No follow-up is given to the interview and the file is closed.
  • It appears necessary to obtain from the Head of company additional information or indications on the corrective measures he envisages. An appointment is made for a new interview.
  • The Head of company is aware of the seriousness of the situation and expresses his intention to request the appointment of a ad hoc trustee or a conciliator.

Warning  

The president of the court may not oblige the director to appoint an ad hoc representative or to open conciliation proceedings.

If the officer does not appear, a notice of default is issued on the same day by the clerk of the court.

However, the president of the court may inform the public prosecutor if it is aware of evidence justifying the conditions for initiating judicial reorganization or winding-up proceedings. The Public Prosecutor's Office may then request the opening of proceedings judicial reorganization or bankruptcy.

The President of the Tribunal shall have 3 months from the date of dispatch the convening of meetings to inquire about the economic and financial situation of the business.

The following persons or organizations may be contacted to request information:

  • Statutory Auditors (CAC)
  • Members and staff representatives
  • General government (tax administration)
  • Security and social security bodies
  • Services responsible for centralizing bank risks and payment incidents

Appointment request

A troubled head of company may spontaneously request an interview with the president of the court. This interview is free, anonymous and confidential.

The court has a prevention mission difficulties of the companies. It may put in place a number of measures to prevent the occurrence of cessation of payments.

The head of company may spontaneously address the president of the court. The competent court depends on the activity carried out:

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Commercial and craft activity

The president of the commercial court is competent to act with companies having a commercial and craft activity.

Who shall I contact

Since the 1er January 2025, the commercial courts of 12 cities are replaced by economic activity tribunals (EABs) for the prevention of companies' difficulties, for the treatment of ad hoc mandate procedures, conciliation procedures and collective procedures. The courts of the following cities are concerned: Avignon, Auxerre, Le Havre, Le Mans, Limoges, Lyon, Marseille, Nancy, Nanterre, Paris, Saint-Brieuc and Versailles. The Ministry of Justice shall make available a simulator to determine the competent court:

Know the competent court for the procedures of prevention or treatment of difficulties

FYI  

Each commercial court (or economic activities court) has a judge for prevention and a detection and prevention unit with which it is possible to obtain an appointment in less than 24 hours.

Liberal activity

The president of the judicial tribunal is competent to act with companies engaged in a liberal activity.

Please note

Lawyers, insolvency administrators, judicial representatives or public or ministerial officers (notaries, judicial commissioners, etc.) may not be summoned by the president of the judicial tribunal in case of difficulty. However, the president of the judicial tribunal may inform the professional order of the difficulties encountered by these companies.

To get an appointment with the president of the court, the head of company has 2 possibilities:

  • Write to: prevention@tribunal-de-commerce.fr
  • Make a referral via the digital court:

Digital Court

During the appointment, the company manager can be accompanied by his accountant or a consultant. It is useful to compile an explanatory file.

The appointment with the president of the court allows to take stock of the situation of the company.

The presiding judge then looks for a suitable solution. This may consist of the appointment of a ad hoc trustee or aconciliator.