Prevention and treatment of difficulties: who are the key players?

Verified 28 August 2026 - Entreprendre Service Public / (Prime Minister)

When the difficulties of the company are proven, several procedures can be put in place depending on the situation. Some are so-called amicable procedures: they make it possible to renegotiate quickly with certain creditors. When the difficulties are more severe and the company is in default, it is directed towards the turnaround or the judicial liquidation. We present you the actors who intervene in this phase of prevention and treatment of difficulties.

Commercial court, economic activities court or judicial court

The courts are privileged interlocutors in case of difficulties.

They can be seized when setting up preventive amicable procedures to designate a ad hoc trustee or a conciliator . They also intervene when the company can no longer meet its liabilities in the context of a backup procedure or in case of cessation of payments to trigger the initiation of a turnaround or bankruptcy.

The competent court depends on the nature of the activity carried out:

  • In case of commercial or craft activity, the commercial court (or economic activities) must be seized:

FYI  

Since 1er in january 2025, commercial and judicial courts in 12 cities are replaced by tribunals for economic activities (TAE) for the processing 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.

  • In other cases, the court must be seised:
Legal and numerical professionals
  • THEinsolvency administrator intervenes in safeguard and judicial reorganization procedures to assist the manager and identify difficulties. The judicial representative, designated in any collective procedure, is responsible for representing creditors and safeguarding the financial rights of employees. To learn more about the duties of administrators and judicial agents, you can visit the following website:
  • The chartered accountants and the lawyers are privileged interlocutors.

They advise and support company managers on their legal and accounting issues on a daily basis:

Who shall I contact
Associative network

Several associations have joined together to provide moral and practical support to leaders in difficulty in the Bounce Portal :

Who shall I contact

To learn more about associations that can help the entrepreneur in difficulty, you can consult the fact sheet on theprofessional rebound aid and the one on thepsychological assistance.

Urssaf

The Urssaf supports entrepreneurs and employers throughout the key stages of their activity.

It supports companies in difficulty, with preventive measures by detecting « weak signals » and defining appropriate solutions: payment deadlines, late payment surcharge rebates, exceptional measures, etc.

Who shall I contact

To learn more about the support offered by the Urssaf, consult the page on theHelp offer.