In a recent announcement, APCE (the French business creation service) have clarified the situation for auto-entrepreneurs who have yet to declare any income from their new start-up business, and consequently have so far paid no tax or social contributions.
APCE state that your registration as an auto-entrepreneur can last for 36 months (or twelve 3-monthly consecutive periods) without any declaration of income - an increase from the normal 12 months applicable to micro-social regimes.
Good news for those struggling to get their new business up and running, and worried about possibly losing their auto-entrepreneur status due to lack of income.
Source: www.apce.com/pid613/regime-micro-social.html