With the inflationary crisis barely abating, new reasons for concern are emerging for SME-VSE bosses. Weakening demand is now their main concern, according to the quarterly survey of 1,000 companies by Bpifrance and Rexecode, published on Monday 16 September. Political uncertainties, which have persisted for nearly three months, are leading business leaders to be very cautious in their decisions: one in two managers has cancelled or postponed investment or hiring projects, according to this survey. And only a small half (46%) say they have invested or plan to do so before the end of the year: that is eleven points less than a year ago.
At the same time, Treasury bonds, without really stagnating, are under pressure. The difficulties arise, in particular, from the extension of payment terms. In the space of a year, they have increased to 12.9 days, almost a day more than a year ago, according to data published on Wednesday 18 September by the firm Altares. This period is slightly reduced in the private sector (12.5 days), but exceeds 13 days in the public sector, with the worst payers being hospitals and decentralised state services.
In total, less than one in two companies in France pays its suppliers on time. These delays, says Thierry Millon, director of Altares studios, “depriving suppliers and subcontractors of essential cash to invest and sometimes simply to maintain “, as evidenced by the increase in breakdowns.
“A certain wait-and-see attitude”
“The negative outlook for customer payment behaviour comes in a context of relatively pessimistic economic expectations”according to the credit insurer Coface, which also published its own survey on payment behaviour in France on Wednesday. “Whatever their size, the companies surveyed largely expect a deterioration or, at best, a continuation of activity in France and around the world. »
In its macroeconomic projections published on Tuesday 17 September, the Bank of France actually barely foresees any recovery in activity. “The French economy is holding up, with growth of just over 1%, but we are not yet seeing a clear recovery. Governor François Villeroy de Galhau sums up in a press interview The Parisian. There is a certain wait-and-see attitude in both households and businesses due to the uncertainty surrounding the political and international context.
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