Have French companies' balance sheets really deteriorated?

There is often concern that French companies' balance sheets have deteriorated significantly as a result of the sharp rise in their debt ratio, which has accelerated due to the COVID crisis But is that really the case? We should not look only at the debt ratio, but: The entire balance sheet (with cash reserves and shareholders' equity); The weight of debt servicing; The trend in bankruptcies; The trend in corporate profitability. It is also important to determine whether there are significant differences between companies according to their size. The results are summarised in the Conclusion.