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President Emmanuel Macron has asked Sébastien Lecornu to come back as head of government a mere four days after he stepped down, sparking a period of intense uncertainty and crisis.

Macron stated towards the end of the week, hours after consulting with key political groups together at the official residence, omitting the figures of the political extremes.

His reappointment came as a surprise, as he declared on national TV only two days ago that he was not “chasing the job” and his task was complete.

It is not even certain whether he will be able to form a government, but he will have to hit the ground running. The new prime minister faces a cut-off on the start of the week to present the annual budget before parliament.

Political Challenges and Budgetary Strains

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

Lecornu, who is one of Macron's closest allies, then published a long statement on X in which he consented to “out of duty” the mission assigned by the president, to strive to finalize financial plans by the end of the year and respond to the daily concerns of our fellow citizens.

Political divisions over how to reduce France's national debt and balance the books have caused the ouster of several leaders in the past twelve months, so his mission is daunting.

The nation's debt earlier this year was nearly 114 percent of economic output (GDP) – the number three in the currency union – and the annual fiscal gap is expected to amount to 5.4 percent of the economy.

Lecornu emphasized that everyone must contribute the necessity of restoring the nation's budget. With only 18 months before the completion of his mandate, he warned that prospective ministers would have to delay their presidential ambitions.

Leading Without Support

Adding to the difficulty for Lecornu is that he will face a vote of confidence in a parliament where Macron has no majority to support him. His public standing reached its lowest point recently, according to a survey that put his public backing on just 14%.

Jordan Bardella of the right-wing group, which was left out of Macron's talks with party leaders on Friday, commented that the decision, by a president “more than ever isolated and disconnected” at the official residence, is a poor decision.

They would immediately bring a challenge against a failing government, whose only reason for being was avoiding a vote, Bardella added.

Building Alliances

Lecornu at least understands the obstacles in his path as he tries to form a government, because he has already devoted 48 hours this week consulting political groups that might participate in his administration.

On their own, the moderate factions cannot form a government, and there are disagreements within the conservative Republicans who have supported the ruling coalition since he lacked support in elections last year.

So Lecornu will consider socialist factions for possible backing.

To gain leftist support, Macron's team indicated the president was evaluating a pause to portions of his divisive retirement changes implemented recently which increased the pension age from the early sixties.

The offer was inadequate of what socialist figures wanted, as they were hoping he would appoint a premier from their side. Olivier Faure of the Socialists commented lacking commitments, they would withhold backing in a vote of confidence.

Fabien Roussel from the Communists stated following discussions that the left wanted real change, and a prime minister from the president's centrist camp would not be accepted by the public.

Environmental party head the Green figure said she was “stunned” the president had provided few concessions to the left, adding that “all of this is going to turn out very badly”.