#EMPLOYMENT & SOCIETY
"Over-indebtedness is exploding." Filings did rise 12.3% in the first half of 2026. In the same barometer, registrations for payment incidents fell 13.1%.
Published on September 16, 2026 · to be rechecked on January 31, 2027
On 15 July 2026 the Banque de France published its June financial inclusion barometer. Over the twelve months to end-June, 157,121 over-indebtedness files were filed, up 12.8%; 82,937 in the first half alone, up 12.3%. Over the same period, registrations on the central cheque register fell 13.1% — bounced cheques down 13.3%, withdrawn payment cards down 12.4% — and court-ordered bank account designations fell 11.9%. Registrations on the credit incident register rose only 3.3%.
Does the rise in over-indebtedness filings mean payments are deteriorating across the board?
Not in this barometer: over the same period, payment incidents fell 13.1%.
In other words: two measures of financial distress, published the same day by the same institution, move in opposite directions.
Five caveats that belong with the number
- A filing is not a new difficulty: it can close an old situation, and it also depends on access to the procedure.
- June's 20.7% rise mainly reflects two extra working days versus June 2025; on equal days it falls to 9.7%.
- The two registers measure different things: one records bounced cheques and withdrawn cards, the other credit repayment incidents.
- The credit incident register does rise, but only by 3.3%, and its over-indebtedness component (+8.7%) mechanically tracks the filings.
- Cheque use is in structural decline in France: part of the fall reflects the payment method, not household finances.
Why it still matters: "over-indebtedness" is not a single thermometer: depending on the indicator, the diagnosis reverses.
For you
- Had you seen the falling figures in that same barometer?
- Does a filing measure hardship, or the use of the procedure?
Source: Banque de France, Financial inclusion barometer no. 63 – June 2026, published 15 July 2026.
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