The French presidency on Tuesday, November 26, issued a categorical denial that President Emmanuel Macron had predicted that the government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier would soon fall due to a motion of no confidence backed by the far right. The presidency used its official account on X, @Elysée, to deny the story published in the The Parisian daily.

The controversy comes a day after French far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen threatened to back a no-confidence motion that could topple the government of Barnier in a standoff over the budget. She said after crunch talks both sides were “entrenched” in their positions.

The Parisian earlier reported that the president told close aides in the gardens of the Elysée Palace on Monday: “The government is going to fall. She [Le Pen] is going to vote for the no-confidence motion at some point, and sooner than we think.”

The presidency commented on X: “The Elysée denies that such remarks were made. The president of the republic is not a commentator on current events. The government is working and the country needs stability.”

But the political editor of The ParisianMarion Mourgue, wrote on X that the paper “stands by its report. It has been cross-checked and confirmed by several sources.”

Months of political tensions since right-winger Barnier became prime minister at the helm of a minority government appointed by Macron in the wake of this summer’s elections are coming to a head over the budget, which has yet to be approved by parliament.

The opposition parties on all sides of the spectrum have denounced the budget, prompting Barnier to consider brandishing the weapon of Article 49.3 of the constitution which allows a government to force through legislation without a vote in parliament. However, that could prompt Le Pen’s far-right Rassemblement National (RN) to team up in a circumstantial alliance with the left-wing bloc in parliament and find enough numbers to topple the government in a confidence vote.

Further complicating the situation is the constitutional rule in France that there must be a one-year gap between legislative elections, meaning that Macron cannot call polls until the summer to resolve what would be a major political crisis.