France’s newly reconstituted government entered a second tense week on Tuesday as Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu prepared to confront a motion of no confidence tied to the controversial pension reform that has roiled the country. Lecornu met with his cabinet to finalize details of the draft 2026 budget, which lawmakers will scrutinize over the next 70 days, before delivering a policy speech at the National Assembly later in the day outlining the government’s priorities.

The pension overhaul, seen by supporters as a necessary fiscal adjustment and by opponents as an assault on social protections, has catalyzed sustained public anger, strikes and parliamentary maneuvers. The Socialist Party has demanded that the law be repealed, and those calling for its suspension gained a prominent ally this week when Nobel Prize–winning economist Philippe Aghion told France 2 that the reform should be paused until the presidential election in 2027. “I think we need to stop the clock now until the presidential election,” Aghion said, arguing that doing so would be “the way to calm things down” and “it doesn’t cost very much to pause it.”

The motion of no confidence, often referred to in France as a motion de censure, would compel the government to resign if it secures a majority in the National Assembly. For Lecornu and President Macron, who reappointed him amid a search for stability after a week of political upheaval, the vote represents a direct test of the fragile parliamentary arithmetic that has characterized Paris politics since the last legislative elections.

Lecornu’s cabinet meeting underscored the twin imperative confronting the government: to demonstrate fiscal responsibility through next year’s budget while attempting to defuse a social crisis that has highlighted deep generational and regional divides. The 70-day parliamentary examination of the budget will provide a forum for opposition parties to intensify pressure, and for unions and civil society to keep protests on the national agenda.

Internationally, the drama is being watched in Brussels and in financial circles. Governments across the European Union monitor France closely because of its economic weight and leadership role; protracted instability in Paris could complicate coordination on wider EU policy and raise questions among investors about the path of fiscal reform and economic governance.

Analysts caution that a successful no-confidence motion would not automatically trigger early presidential elections, but it would remove the government and further complicate Macron’s ability to govern through to 2027. For many French citizens, the debate embodies a larger clash over the social contract: whether to prioritize austerity and competitiveness or to preserve the welfare arrangements that have defined modern France.

As Lecornu prepared to face lawmakers, the country remained poised between potential concession and confrontation. The coming days in the National Assembly will likely determine whether the government can reset the political temperature or whether the pension dispute will deepen into a broader constitutional and electoral crisis.