“Business leaders are anxious because nothing has been stabilised”: the president of the Montpellier commercial court wants to avoid any catastrophism

Nadine Baptiste sait que les deux secteurs en souffrance sont le bâtiment et la restauration. Midi Libre – GIACOMO ITALIANO

Entretien avec la présidente du tribunal de commerce de Montpellier, depuis 2020, Nadine Baptiste, qui revient sur l’année économique et les difficultés actuelles rencontrées par les entreprises et leurs responsables.

The current economic context is marked by the difficulties of large and medium-sized companies. What about the Montpellier basin??

We are in an economic basin made up of many small companies, this is its characteristic with many companies in the services. As a result, we are less affected than in certain industrial regions. We see difficulties, particularly in the construction sector, a very important sector in our area. Thus, in terms of collective procedures, liquidations, recovery, safeguards, there is an increase of around +18% at the end of November compared to the same period in 2023. Prevention procedures, conciliations and ad hoc mandates are also increasing.

Which sectors are affected by the collective measures? ? Is the situation worse than at the end of 2023? ?

We know that the main activities concerned are catering and construction. This is confirmed and it is increasing a little compared to 2023. We can see this with the few sales in real estate, including in Montpellier where the sector is extremely buoyant. We have noted an increase in the number of receiverships by Urssaf when companies do not pay their charges. Compared to the 911 procedures at the end of November, we are at 397 assignments, that is 45%. At the national level, a statistic mentions that 60% of collective procedures concern companies where there are no employees. It is important to make the difference. Indeed, the economic situation is complicated, we lack visibility, but this skews the figures. We must not say that everything is going badly.

In your interventions, you insist on preventive measures. Why ?

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Prevention means that we anticipate difficulties and come to us beforehand to try to find solutions with creditors. I encourage professionals and those who surround managers to do this, so that people are not afraid to go through the courtroom. In the context of prevention, we have 92 procedures since the beginning of 2024, which is already quite a lot. Not all preventions are successful, but we note that 75% of these cases are successful while 75% of receivership cases end in liquidation.

Bio express

A judge in the jurisdiction since 2013, Nadine Baptiste was elected president of the commercial court in 2020. A voluntary mandate that runs until the end of 2026. This Vauclusian by origin comes from the banking sector, more specifically from the Caisse d'Epargne where she was in charge of the corporate sector and other subsidiaries of the bank. The commercial court is made up of 50 judges. In 2023, the jurisdiction rendered 12,000 decisions. “There are payment orders, interim relief, litigation, orders, there are not only collective procedures, for us this is not the core of our business.” The jurisdiction of the Montpellier Commercial Court includes the areas of Sète, Clermont-l’Hérault, Lodève, Ganges and Lunel.

How are they also important for entrepreneurs??

I believe in these measures, because they allow the manager not to be left alone. Because, today, we see, to our great dismay, that business leaders are burying their heads in the sand, and we end up with employees who are no longer paid. It's a bit dramatic for us. I can't accept it because when you're a leader, you have to face it.

How do you react in these cases?

We are notified either by the public prosecutor or by the employees. So, we summon the head of the company and ask him for explanations. We explain to him that he must file a declaration of cessation of payments. That employees are not paid is understandable, but there are mechanisms that take over such as the AGS in the context of collective procedures. Some are in denial, but it can happen. There may be the failure of a customer for example, but we insist a lot on the responsible nature of the entrepreneur.

Last year, the representative of the public prosecutor insisted on the problem of non-filing of accounts. Is this still the case?

It has improved a little, but we need to continue to follow up. The prosecutor's intervention has gotten local entrepreneurs talking a lot, and it has borne fruit. Lawyers alert their clients on the subject, and then it's the law. It remains a priority for us. We had 28,000 accounts filed at the end of November, that's not enough.

Is the economic fabric still dynamic?

Yes. We have about 60,000 companies in our jurisdiction. This year, up to November, 4,361 companies were created. There were 1,415 deregistrations. We are maintaining a very positive balance. Despite everything, we are in a dynamic economy.

Does the court have a breakdown by sector??

No, unfortunately. But there are quite a few start-ups, companies created in the audiovisual sector. There is now a whole favorable ecosystem, an interesting breeding ground. I am not going to say that there are no difficulties, but let's avoid catastrophism. I find that business leaders are anxious, because nothing has been stabilized, particularly in terms of taxation. It is not a very favorable climate.

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