Bank of France’s Payment Terms Observatory publishes 2024 report showing private-sector payment delays rising to 13.6 days

The Bank of France’s Observatoire des Délais de Paiement published its annual report on payment terms in France for 2024, highlighting a deterioration in inter-company payment behaviour after stabilisation in 2023. The report was presented to the Minister for Trade, Crafts, SMEs and the Social and Solidarity Economy on 10 July 2025. By end-2024, the average late payment in the private sector reached 13.6 days, one day higher than the previous year and above the European average. While the trend particularly affects the smallest firms, large companies remain the poorest payers, with average delays of 18 days among firms with more than 1,000 employees; more than two-thirds of SMEs pay suppliers within 60 days versus around half of large groups. The report estimates that persistent late payments weigh on the cash flow of SMEs and microenterprises by EUR 15bn. In the public sector, central government payment times continued to improve (14.2 days on average, with nearly nine out of ten payments made within 30 days) and local authorities also progressed despite marked regional disparities, while public healthcare establishments deteriorated to 63.4 days on average in metropolitan France and up to 121.5 days overseas, well beyond the regulatory deadline. The report also notes intensified enforcement by the DGCCRF, with a reported 18.5% rise in the anomaly rate, and references the Observatory’s publication of a good-practice guide for public and private entities. The Observatory will continue work with relevant stakeholders on improvement levers across the payment chain, including simplifying companies’ reporting obligations on their payment times during the year.