In 2019, French productive capacity remained highly concentrated, with just a few thousand multinationals generating more than half the value added and accounting for nearly 90% of exports. In contrast, the local economic fabric consisted of several million small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), many of which were in fact micro-enterprises; almost three quarters had no employees, and there were nearly 2 million sole proprietorships. Large companies were not the only ones organised into groups, with almost half of SMEs (excluding micro-enterprises) structured this way. Productive capacity shifted substantially toward the service sector, including industry and construction, two sectors in which the large groups increasingly developed service-related subsidiaries.

For five years preceding the health crisis (2015–2019), the average situation faced by companies improved: there were productivity gains in all sectors (+8%), particularly in industry (+12%) and trade (+12%); the distribution of value added was more favourable for companies, especially in industry, trade and construction, where profit margins increased by 1.6 points, 2.3 points and 3.0 points, respectively; all sectors saw a significant increase in the investment rate (+1.8 points); huge numbers of new companies were created (+55%); and there was a net decline in bankruptcies (−18%).

Looking beyond this overall assessment, which covers all productive capacity before the crisis, the economic situation faced by independent very small enterprises (VSEs) and SMEs differed in some ways from that of other companies during the 2015–2019 period: there was a lack of productivity gains on average over the period; profit margins saw a sharper increase on average (partly due to labour cost reduction measures for low wage earners), although a third of these companies still posted operating losses in 2019 (compared to 16% for other companies); and the investment rate did not increase despite the self-financing rate averaging more than 100%.

The financial situation of all VSEs/SMEs improved steadily on average between 2015 and 2019 in terms of both liquidity (improved cash flow at the end of the period) and solvency (increased equity and net reduction in debt). Despite this, some VSEs/SMEs remained in financial difficulty in 2019, with 38% struggling to finance their operating cycle due to liquidity problems and 29% recording solvency issues (negative equity or a debt ratio exceeding 200%). In addition, the proportion of independent VSEs/SMEs facing liquidity or solvency challenges in 2019 was higher in sectors more exposed to the crisis in 2020 and 2021 (accommodation and food service activities, personal services, retail trade, construction etc.).