AGS expects up to 75,000 corporate insolvencies in France in 2026

Paris – 13 July 2026: The French wage guarantee scheme AGS expects between 71,000 and 75,000 corporate insolvencies for the full year 2026. This could set a new record high. The institution also forecasts that it will have to provide around EUR 2.6 billion by the end of the year to secure outstanding wage claims. The background is the continuing economic strain on many businesses and larger proceedings involving particularly high numbers of affected employees.

By 30 June, the Association pour la gestion du régime de Garantie des créances des Salariés, or AGS for short, had already provided EUR 1.31 billion. This was 19.4 percent more than in the same period of the previous year. The funds secure employees’ claims when companies enter court-supervised restructuring or liquidation proceedings and are unable to pay wages or other amounts due themselves.

In the first half of the year, AGS supported 157,983 employees, according to its own figures, 12 percent more than a year earlier. In addition, nearly 14,000 new proceedings were opened in which the institution had to intervene. According to AGS, the trend indicates that medium-sized and larger companies are now being affected more frequently. This increases both the number of employees per proceeding and average costs.

The latest data from the Banque de France confirm the high level. In the 12 months through the end of May 2026, 70,077 corporate insolvencies were recorded. This represented an increase of 4.4 percent compared with the same period a year earlier and was 18.1 percent above the average for 2010 to 2019. The figures cover court proceedings involving companies and show that the situation has not yet eased sustainably.

The amounts advanced by AGS rose particularly sharply in several sectors. In industry, they totalled EUR 295 million in the first half of the year, up 28.6 percent year on year. In retail and trade, they rose to EUR 211 million. Even higher growth rates were recorded in transport and warehousing, as well as in the hotel and restaurant sector.

The impact also varies by region. AGS reported particularly large increases in eligible beneficiaries in Hauts-de-France and Occitanie. The institution pointed to the importance of industrial and trade-oriented economic regions. There, the insolvency of a single larger employer can have significant consequences for suppliers, service providers and local employment.

AGS was established in 1974 and is financed through a collective levy paid by companies. It said it continues to process more than 80 percent of claim statements within 48 hours. In 2025, the institution had already provided more than EUR 2.2 billion for around 250,000 employees, according to its own figures. The new forecast would substantially exceed that record in the current year.