In 2024, business failures rose by 17%, and projections for 2025 anticipate over 65,000 formal insolvency proceedings. Behind these figures lie human dramas—stories of commitment, passion, and exhaustion. Each week, behind closed doors in the commercial courtrooms, the futures of artisans, shopkeepers, and small-to-medium enterprises hang in the balance. These business owners have been battered by the post-COVID economic crisis, skyrocketing raw material costs, and sharply rising interest rates.

Envoyé spécial obtained special permission to film proceedings at the Tribunal for Economic Activities in Le Mans. What happens when a company falls into the spiral of unpaid debts? By filming both entrepreneurs in crisis and the judges—who themselves are business owners—who sometimes handle cases up to the point of company auctions, this documentary sheds light on a little-known arm of the justice system.