They held up.
At least in appearance.
Faced with the economic storm that hit them in 2020, the French companies have surprisingly not weakened.
The number of defaults has even fallen by 39.5% over one year, according to provisional data from the Banque de France.
32,184 companies adrift - in receivership or liquidation - were identified in 2020 by the Altares firm.
This is the lowest figure since… 1987!
But beware of trompe-l'oeil.
Because these beautiful official figures hide the deep cracks that have weakened the foundations of our companies for months.
Some are taken by the throat with a colossal debt ratio.
Others are kept afloat thanks to numerous state aid.
Finally, many of them keep jobs only through partial unemployment.
At Bercy, we are well aware that 2020 will not be 2021. And that the most affected companies will find it difficult to get by.
This is why - in particular - Emmanuel Macron made the choice, last Friday, to postpone yet a third confinement, fatal for the economy.
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At the Ministry of the Economy, we take their tension almost day by day.
And the patterns of large SMEs and large groups have something to alert the experts of the Interministerial Committee for Industrial Restructuring (Ciri).
It is here that the biggest files of companies in distress - in terms of employees in particular - are taken care of with VIP treatment.
Full audit, refinancing plan, negotiations with banks and shareholders: Ciri's rapporteurs take care of everything to avoid breakage.
In the midst of a health and economic storm, it is urgent to save our French companies which provide the most jobs, the most strategic and the most symbolic.
And it works !
In 2020, despite a doubling of the number of cases with the crisis, the success rate climbed to 95%.
A total of 54,596 jobs have been saved thanks to Ciri's intervention.
"The recent activity of Ciri has been disrupted by the health crisis", we can read in the activity report of which we unveil the figures.
To understand the titanic work carried out at the time of Covid-19, we spoke at length with the rapporteurs of this cutting-edge service.
At the bedside of companies throughout the year, they tell the crisis through five beautiful stories of rescues.
Buffalo Grill, Corsair, Degrenne or even Solocal and Novares, passed close to death, are now back on their feet.
New shareholders for Corsair
Planes grounded, reservations stopped and shareholders with absent subscribers.
During March 2020, Pascal de Izaguirre clearly felt that, despite the country's immobility, a speed race was underway for the survival of his company.
A few weeks after the start of confinement, Corsair and its 1,100 employees were in imminent danger of death.
"When you have no money coming in and your shareholders let go, all you have to do is find others," says the CEO of the airline.
But in the midst of turbulence, it was not easy.
"
If the number of employees to be saved was a criterion for Ciri, helping Corsair was also a political and economic choice for the State. / LP / Arnaud Journois
His file quickly arrived on Ciri's desk.
And he wasn't the only one.
During the first confinement, the experts of this cutting-edge service observed a real surge of requests.
30 new cases thus arrived at Ciri between March and May, almost as many as for the whole of 2019. And in 2020, 70 companies in distress - representing 96,144 employees in France - seized the specialists of Bercy.
This is twice as much as the previous year.
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"Some files did not stay with us very long, because most companies were facing a liquidity crisis specific to the crisis", specifies one of the rapporteurs.
For Corsair, the situation was a bit more complex.
“The airline found itself in a cash flow impasse and it was urgent to find new shareholders,” he continues.
Especially since the file is sensitive.
If the number of employees to be saved is a criterion for Ciri, helping Corsair is also a political and economic choice for the State.
“If we sank, we risked having a duopoly situation in the Antilles
(Editor's note: Air France and Air Caraïbes)
, decrypts Pascal de Izaguirre.
Supporting us ensured effective price competition.
"
On December 31, after exhausting months of negotiations, the CEO toast to the good news: new shareholders have been found, the TUI group - owner of the planes - agreed to drop or lower charges (126 million euros).
And the State took out the checkbook: 80 million euros in direct loans were granted to the company, with the approval of Brussels, as well as 61 million euros in tax and social security deferrals.
95% success
As always, the Ciri unrolled its arsenal: diagnosis of the company, study of a financial turnaround plan with banking partners and shareholders, endless negotiations 24 hours a day, weekends and holidays included to lead to an agreement allowing it is up to the company to bounce back… in 95% of cases!
The Degrenne tableware group has also been part of the great successes of Ciri in recent months.
The closing of stores and the stopping of orders from hotels, restaurants and airlines brought the company founded in 1948 to its knees last May. “We needed money,” explains Geraldine Hottier Fayon, the president.
But after years of financial loss, we have failed to secure a sufficient EMP.
The pressure from Ciri was useless, the banks did not want to help us, ”she laments.
After weeks of negotiations, the Normandy region is reviewing its aid upwards, the same for the German shareholder.
And, ultimately, the State is injecting 8 million euros in direct aid to help this symbol of made in France.
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But isn't it dangerous to use public funds to save these companies at all costs?
"There are a lot of jobs at stake," retorts in the corridors of Bercy.
And, each time, a plan to reorganize the accounts is carried out.
You don't give a blank check.
At Corsair, for example, the rescue of the Ciri was accompanied by a plan for drastic cost reductions: 200 departures, a drop in wages of 10% and an increase in productivity of 10%.
Debt, a real drag
But since the start of the crisis, Ciri has had a formidable tool: the State Guaranteed Loan (PGE).
"It responded to cash flow difficulties, and sometimes helped to unblock delicate situations", we recognize.
Because sometimes, companies with too much debt have not won their case with their bank to obtain the precious sesame.
The intervention of Ciri is therefore essential.
Example with Novares - a subcontractor of PSA and Renault - drowned under 400 million euros of debt and therefore inaudible to the banks.
Finally, after "difficult negotiations", recognize the rapporteurs of Ciri, the 1400 employees of Novares in France are saved thanks to a crushing of the debt and a EMP of 71 million euros.
Ditto at Buffalo Grill, whose case is taken care of in April.
With the closure of 360 restaurants, the group is taken by the throat.
“A company with more than 5,000 employees needs Bercy's agreement to obtain an EMP,” explains Jocelyn Olive, the managing director.
But impossible for the firefighters of Bercy to get a guaranteed loan of 65 million euros without cleaning up the indebted company.
After several weeks of discussions, the Anglo-Saxon shareholder finally agrees to inject 200 million euros to buy back the debt.
With the closure of 360 restaurants, the Buffalo Grill group is taken by the throat (Illustration).
LP / Arnaud Journois
"When you have a foreign shareholder, Ciri's intervention brings weight in the negotiations," says Olivier Regnard, Solocal's financial director.
At the end of March, the old Yellow Pages quickly got into trouble.
"From the first confinement, we lost 55% of our planned order intake", he slips.
And with a debt of over 500 million euros, the survival of the company and its 3,000 employees quickly became an issue.
After seven months of discussions, Ciri succeeded in putting pressure on the Anglo-Saxon shareholder.
"If he does not want to lose everything with a bankruptcy filing of the company, it is better to agree to reorganize the financing", decrypts a senior official.
It remains to be seen whether these cash contributions will be sufficient to weather the storm.
In sectors where the prospects for recovery are unclear, there is already concern.
“Our 65 million euros of PGE will not allow us to withstand the shock if the restaurants do not reopen until June or September, fears Jocelyn Olive.
It will take a second.
But we are also awaiting new state aid, specific to large groups like ours which have not yet benefited from many measures.
"
