A “business watch” in Gard launched by the CCI to support the most fragile societies

From mid-February, a “CCI business monitoring” system will be set up in Gard to prevent any difficulties, especially in a complicated economic context against a backdrop of political instability. An approach presented at the Bodeguita this Tuesday, January 21 by the president of the CCI Éric Giraudier, the future honorary president of the commercial court Jean-Marie Albouy and the national president of the CIP (Information Center on the Prevention of Business Difficulties) Jean-Marie Chabaud.

The situation demands it according to the president of the CCI Gard: “We are as close as possible to companies to support them. There was strong action at the time of Covid. There, the virus is more economical and the situation has been blocked for companies since the dissolution. This slows down employment, investments. In 2024, there will be a record number of failures.

Companies with fewer than 20 employees given priority assistance

For the monitoring unit, it is a question of reaching out to companies to prevent any difficulties, especially since most of them will have to repay by 2026 the loan guaranteed by the State put in place during the Covid crisis. “In September 2024, there were a number of procedures that had not been reached since 2010 with 250,000 jobs threatened. This is why we must come to entrepreneurs early enough because they often present themselves with so many difficulties that there is only judicial liquidation as an outcome”noted Jean-Marie Chabaud.

The typology of companies to monitor closely in Gard is already known: these are mainly those with fewer than 20 employees. The system could make it possible to reach a quarter of the 50,000 businesses in Gard. This will involve sending emails and meetings to resolve the impasse. Everything will be free and confidential.

From his experience as an entrepreneur and president of the Nîmes commercial court, Jean-Marie Albouy recalled that it is small businesses with fewer than five employees that most often file for bankruptcy: “In 2024, 606 collective procedures were recorded. 561 cases concerned companies with fewer than five employees and 533 had less than €750,000 in turnover, which means they are going under the radar. But above all, there are more than €108 million in liabilities at the opening, it’s huge!” The construction, automobile and technology sectors are the most exposed.