Mediation and conflicts.

This content is a translation of the document ‘Mesures de soutien économiques’ (Economic support measures) drafted by the government

Whom should I contact in the event of a conflict between customers and suppliers?

The Business Mediator

Business mediation offers a free, fast and responsive mediation service: a mediator contacts the person who has made the referral within seven days to define a confidential action plan with them. Confidential business information remains secret and the companies’ reputation is not affected.

Any dispute relating to the execution of a private law contract, including a tacit one, or a public order, may be referred to the mediator (e.g. late payment, non-compliant services or goods, etc.).

To benefit from it:

You can contact the Business Mediator online at: https://www.mieist.bercy.gouv.fr/.

Prior to a referral, you can ask questions or seek advice on how to proceed, confidentially, using the contact form:

https://www.economie.gouv.fr/mediateur-des-entreprises/contactez-mediateur-des-entreprises

All the information is on the economie.gouv.fr website: https://www.economie.gouv.fr/mediateur-desentreprises/la-mediation

Is there a specific scheme in the Covid-19 crisis management plan set up to deal with inter-company credit issues?

On 23 March, the Minister announced that a crisis committee would be created under the aegis of the Business Mediator and the Credit Mediator. This committee will bring together business federations (U2P, MEDEF, CPME, and AFEP), the General Directorate for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) and the consular chambers.

This committee will be able to deal with the most serious cases of inter-company credit deterioration in real time and encourage companies to make their commercial relations more fluid, by monitoring the health of SMEs, which are generally more fragile than large companies in terms of their cash flow.

This crisis committee will meet via conference call as often as necessary under the aegis of the Business Mediator and the Credit Mediator and will bring together business federations (AFEP, CPME, MEDEF, U2P), the consular chambers and the DGCCRF.

The crisis committee has been assigned the following responsibilities:

• To identify how bad the deterioration of payment deadlines has become and to detect the most obvious cases;
• To find ways to take instant measurements and communicate about the situation regarding inter-company credit;
• To remind the Business Mediator and the Credit Mediator of the means available to them for dealing with certain difficult situations, which may go beyond isolated cases to concern entire professional branches;
• To put an end to critical situations by getting company representatives involved; these representatives shall be in a position to act vis-à-vis companies that behave abnormally;
• To highlight companies that make voluntary commitments to economic solidarity.

This crisis committee’s work complements that of the DGCCRF. The DGCCRF is the administration in charge of carrying out controls and, if necessary, imposing sanctions in the event of failure to comply with legal payment deadlines. Late payments and any abusive commercial practices can thus be brought to the attention of the Regional Directorate for Enterprises, Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs, Labour and Employment (DIRECCTE) – the regional services responsible for performing checks. It will take appropriate action, while preserving the anonymity of the reports made if necessary.