In 2021, the productive system gathered 4.5 million entreprises in the non-agricultural and non-financial market sectors. One third of the turnover and of the total value added were generated by fewer than 300 companies. Number of business births was at an all-time high, while number of business failures was at an all-time low. With the end of the Covid-19 health crisis, sales rose sharply in 2021, by 13.2% in current euros. The increase in turnover was particularly strong for larger companies. In accommodation and food service activities, personal services, and transport and storage, sectors most affected by the restrictive measures, more than half of entreprises recorded a fall in turnover between 2019 and 2021.

The financial position of companies, as measured by a number of ratios, was better in 2021 than in 2019. Financial profitability was up, particularly in large companies. Net cash position increased for almost two-thirds of companies, particularly in the accommodation and food service activites, most probably as a result of State aids provided to face the Covid-19 crisis.

Over the period 2014-2021, investment in tangible assets by companies organised into groups increased mainly through purchase or integration of new legal units within their outline, particularly among multinationals. The structure of investment, which had changed slightly in 2020, returned to that of the pre-crisis period.