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The French leader has asked Sébastien Lecornu to resume duties as head of government a mere four days after he left the post, triggering a week of high drama and political turmoil.

Macron made the announcement on Friday evening, shortly after consulting with all the main parties together at the official residence, except for the figures of the far right and far left.

Lecornu's return was unexpected, as he stated on television recently that he was not interested in returning and his “mission is over”.

It is not even certain whether he will be able to assemble a cabinet, but he will have to start immediately. Lecornu faces a time limit on the start of the week to put next year's budget before lawmakers.

Governing Obstacles and Fiscal Demands

The presidency said the president had assigned him to build a cabinet, and those close to the president indicated he had been given full authority to proceed.

The prime minister, who is one of Macron's closest allies, then published a long statement on social media in which he accepted “out of duty” the mission assigned by the president, to make every effort to secure a national budget by the end of the year and tackle the everyday problems of our countrymen.

Partisan conflicts over how to reduce the country's public debt and balance the books have resulted in the ouster of two of the past three prime ministers in the past twelve months, so his mission is immense.

The nation's debt recently was almost 114% of economic output (GDP) – the third highest in the euro area – and the annual fiscal gap is estimated to reach 5.4 percent of GDP.

Lecornu said that everyone must contribute the necessity of restoring government accounts. In just a year and a half before the conclusion of his term, he cautioned that anyone joining his government would have to delay their aspirations for higher office.

Leading Without Support

Adding to the difficulty for the prime minister is that he will face a vote of confidence in a National Assembly where Macron has lacks sufficient support to support him. His public standing plummeted this week, according to an Elabe poll that put his approval rating on just 14%.

Jordan Bardella of the right-wing group, which was left out of Macron's talks with party leaders on Friday, said that the decision, by a president increasingly isolated at the Élysée, is a “bad joke”.

The National Rally would immediately bring a vote of no confidence against a failing government, whose main motivation was fear of an election, the leader stated.

Building Alliances

The prime minister at least is aware of the challenges in his path as he tries to build a coalition, because he has already devoted 48 hours this week consulting parties that might support him.

Alone, the centrist parties cannot form a government, and there are splits within the traditionalists who have supported the administration since he failed to secure enough seats in recent polls.

So he will look to socialist factions for possible backing.

As a gesture to progressives, Macron's team suggested the president was considering a delay to some aspects of his highly contentious retirement changes enacted last year which extended working life from the early sixties.

The offer was inadequate of what progressive chiefs hoped for, as they were anticipating he would choose a leader from their side. Olivier Faure of the Socialists said “since we've not been given any guarantees, we won't give any guarantee” for the premier.

The Communist figure from the left-wing party said after meeting the president that the left wanted real change, and a leader from the central bloc would not be accepted by the public.

Greens leader Marine Tondelier remarked she was surprised the president had given minimal offers to the progressives, adding that outcomes would be negative.