“The resilience of businesses has been put to the test in 2024,” according to the president of the Béziers commercial court

There were 23 in 2024 and there are now 25 consular judges at the Béziers Commercial Court. Diane Petitmangin

Eric Germis, the outgoing president, was reappointed and insists on the need to prevent risks for businesses. Diane Petitmangin

The president, Éric Germis, presented the results for the year 2024 during the formal return of the Béziers commercial court, this Thursday, January 23, at the courthouse.

The 25 consular judges of the Béziers commercial court, like their counterparts in the judicial court, formally returned to work this Thursday, January 23, at 9:15 a.m. Gathered in the Simone-Veil room of the courthouse, they unanimously reappointed the outgoing president, Éric Germis (*).

The latter drew up a rather gloomy assessment of the year 2024, where “the resilience of businesses has been put to the test” in a difficult context, marked by “the decline in turnover, the evaporation of cash flow and the difficulties in coping with the various charges“.

1 387 payment orders

Thus, concerning the “General Litigation” section, “the volume of new cases is up 25%, with 308 new cases, while the stock of cases in this area is up 30% with a total volume of 220 cases.”

In the same vein, payment orders have multiplied: “At the end of 2023, they had increased by 30%, which was not a sign of good weather because the same observation can be made in 2024 with, here too, an increase of 30%, for a total volume over the year of 1,387 payment orders”.

The usefulness of prevention

In addition, “2024 has held a sad record for ten years with the opening of more than 66,000 collective procedures in France(judicial recovery or liquidation in particular, see below, Editor's note).” In Béziers, the commercial court noted a 22% increase, with 382 collective procedures including 206 liquidations (54%) and 129 judicial reorganizations (34%).

New tools

Éric Germis also reported two new tools at the disposal of consular judges "so that the court can act". According to Article L232-21 of the French Commercial Code, which deals with the obligation to file accounts, "since May 2024, sanctions have been put in place” for companies that do not comply with this rule. “The second system concerns companies that remain silent when summoned by the commercial court for preventive interviews in light of a deteriorating situation.” And which are summoned by the public prosecutor's office to the council chamber with a view to opening collective proceedings.

But President Éric Germis took the liberty of insisting on the need to prevent risks and the usefulness of “identifying the first signs”. Because “75% of companies that enter prevention find a solution to their problems compared to only 5% in the context of collective proceedings. In 2024, we have regularly communicated on prevention and my objective, in 2025, is to maintain this communication with all the economic players in our territory in order to react more quickly”.

Finally, and this is a source of satisfaction, “we are seeing a clear improvement in the average duration of cases, which has gone from 4 months in 2023 to 3 months in 2024. This is the direct consequence of the action taken in good faith with the Béziers Bar to set up a new timetable and comply with its application.”

Petit lexique

– Consular judge: is a non-professional judge. Coming from the society civil, he is elected by his peers (craftsmen, traders, business leaders, etc.), regardless of the sector of activity or the size of the company. They are elected for two years but can be re-elected for four terms of four years each, within the same court. “They take an oath and must respect the same rules of impartiality and independence as professional magistrates. They are also subject to rules of ethics, professional secrecy and the obligation to declare interests".

– Payment order: according to the registry of the Paris Economic Affairs Court, a payment order “is a procedure that can help you quickly obtain reimbursement of sums owed to you by a debtor who is a trader or company", regardless of the amount (unpaid invoice, non-payment of rent and/or loan repayment, contribution due to a pension fund, etc.).

– Collective procedure: when a business or company finds itself in a state of cessation of payments, the court opens a collective procedure adapted to its economic, financial and social situation. When a rescue seems possible, a judicial recovery plan is put in place to maintain activity and employment and to spread debts over several years – a partial or total recovery may also be decided; otherwise, the company is placed in receivership and its activity stopped.

(*) Éric Germis was reappointed and elected by his peers on December 14. I subscribe to read the rest