Formal notice, payment order, summary judgment for provisional payment, protective attachments and proceedings on the merits against French debtors.
You are facing:
- a significant invoice unpaid despite reminders
- a customer disputing the service to avoid paying
- a debtor organising its insolvency
- a claim against a French company from abroad
- commercial proceedings brought against your company in France
An unpaid debt is first a cash-flow problem, then a legal one. The faster and better adapted the reaction to the debtor’s profile, the higher the chances of recovery. The firm acts for creditors, foreign and French, from amicable recovery to forced execution, and defends companies sued by a business partner in France.
The choice of procedure depends on three questions: is the debt disputed, is the debtor solvent, and where are its assets.
The risk: a certain debt that becomes irrecoverable for want of timely action
The first risk is time. A commercial debt is time-barred after five years (Article L. 110-4 of the Commercial Code), but long before that the debtor may have transferred its assets, changed structure or entered insolvency proceedings that freeze all individual actions. A late filing of the claim with the insolvency administrator forfeits the right to be paid.
The second risk is the artificial dispute: the debtor alleges non-conformity, delay or a failure to advise in order to turn a simple debt into lengthy and costly litigation on the merits. The quality of the contractual documentation, purchase orders, accepted terms and conditions, acceptance reports, then makes all the difference.
Is a significant debt still unpaid? A first review allows the most effective procedure to be chosen within days.
The legal solution: the procedure suited to the debtor, not the default one
For a debt that is not seriously disputable, the payment order procedure (Articles 1405 et seq. of the Code of Civil Procedure) or the summary judgment for provisional payment (Article 873) yield an enforceable title within weeks. Late-payment penalties and the fixed recovery indemnity under Article L. 441-10 of the Commercial Code are added to the principal.
Where the debtor may dissipate its assets, a protective attachment authorised by the enforcement judge freezes its accounts or receivables even before judgment. For creditors located in the European Union, the European order for payment and the European enforcement order avoid exequatur proceedings; for creditors outside the Union, the firm draws on its experience of cross-border enforcement.
How the firm assists you
The firm first secures evidence of the debt and assesses the debtor’s solvency, then sends a formal notice that starts interest running and prepares the litigation. Depending on the response, it files for a payment order, applies for summary judgment or sues on the merits before the commercial court, and has the title enforced by a French enforcement officer.
In defence, it analyses the alleged debt, raises procedural and substantive objections, invokes the creditor’s own breaches and negotiates, where in the client’s interest, a payment schedule or a settlement. It also acts upstream, reviewing general terms of sale and retention of title clauses that facilitate future recovery.
Typical matters
The situations below are illustrative scenarios drawn from the firm’s practice and anonymised.
Customer disputing after eight months of silence
A consulting firm claims EUR 180,000 in fees. The customer suddenly alleges breaches. The firm obtains in summary proceedings a provisional payment of 70 % of the debt, the balance being settled by agreement.
Debtor transferring its business to a sister company
A creditor discovers that its debtor has sold its business to a newly created company run by the same managers. The firm obtains a protective attachment on the sale price, then judgment on the merits.
Foreign exporter unpaid by a French distributor
A German exporter is not paid by its French distributor. The firm obtains a European order for payment and enforces it against the distributor’s bank accounts in France.
Does your claim resemble one of these situations? Describe it to us and we will indicate the fastest route and its cost.
Unpaid invoices often follow a breakdown of the relationship itself, which raises the question of abrupt termination and its notice period. Where the debt is rent, the matter is dealt with under the rules of the commercial lease.
Everything on commercial debt recovery
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fastest way to recover an unpaid invoice?
For a claim that is not seriously disputable, an application for an order to pay, obtained without a hearing on the strength of the documents, is the quickest route, and the order becomes enforceable if the debtor does not object within the time allowed. Where a dispute is expected, summary proceedings for an interim payment are more robust because they survive an objection. The choice depends on how contested the claim really is. Sending a formal demand first is not a formality: it fixes interest and often produces payment.
What is a European payment order worth?
A great deal, within the European Union. The European order for payment produces a title recognised and enforceable in the other Member States without exequatur, and the application is made on standard forms. It suits uncontested cross border claims, and an objection by the debtor simply transfers the case into ordinary proceedings. The European small claims procedure covers lower value disputes. Both are underused by businesses which assume that a debt owed from another Member State is not worth pursuing.
Can the debtor’s assets be frozen before judgment?
Yes. A conservatory attachment of bank accounts, receivables or other assets may be authorised where the claim appears well founded in principle and recovery appears to be at risk, and it is obtained without the debtor being heard. Within the Union, a European Account Preservation Order performs the same function across borders. The measure must be followed by proceedings on the merits within the prescribed period. It is the single most effective step in recovery, and also the one most often taken too late.
What interest and costs can be claimed?
Interest at the contractual rate or, failing that, at the statutory rate applicable to late payment between businesses, together with a fixed indemnity for recovery costs for each invoice and, where the actual costs exceed it, additional compensation on proof. A court may also order the losing party to contribute to the winner’s legal costs. Claiming these items from the outset changes the arithmetic of the negotiation, because the debtor then sees the cost of continued delay rather than the principal alone.
How long does enforcement take?
Enforcement itself is quick once a title exists, and the real constraint is locating the assets. A commissaire de justice can attach bank accounts, receivables owed to the debtor by its own customers, vehicles and goods, and can register security over real property. Attachment of a receivable is often the most effective measure because it reaches the money before it arrives. A debtor with no traceable assets is a different problem, which is why information is gathered before the title is obtained.
What if the debtor becomes insolvent?
The answer depends on the procedure opened. Once insolvency proceedings begin, individual actions are stayed and the claim must be declared within a short period, failing which it can no longer be paid out of the proceedings. Retention of title and any security taken become decisive, as does whether the goods can still be identified. Directors’ liability may be engaged in defined cases. The practical lesson lies upstream: security, retention of title and monitoring of the counterparty are worth more than any effort made afterwards.