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President Emmanuel Macron has called upon Sébastien Lecornu to resume duties as head of government a mere four days after he stepped down, triggering a stretch of political upheaval and political turmoil.

Macron stated late on Friday, shortly after consulting with leading factions together at the official residence, except for the leaders of the extremist parties.

The decision to reinstate him came as a surprise, as he said on television only two days ago that he was not seeking the position and his task was complete.

Doubts remain whether he will be able to establish a ruling coalition, but he will have to hit the ground running. Lecornu faces a deadline on Monday to put next year's budget before lawmakers.

Governing Obstacles and Fiscal Demands

The Élysée said the president had given him the duty of creating a administration, and his advisors implied he had been given complete freedom to proceed.

The prime minister, who is one of the president's key supporters, then released a detailed message on an online platform in which he accepted “out of duty” the mission entrusted to me by the president, to strive to secure a national budget by the year's conclusion and respond to the common issues of our countrymen.

Partisan conflicts over how to reduce government borrowing and balance the books have led to the fall of multiple premiers in the last year, so his challenge is enormous.

Government liabilities earlier this year was almost 114% of economic output (GDP) – the third highest in the eurozone – and this year's budget deficit is projected to hit 5.4% of the economy.

Lecornu emphasized that everyone must contribute the need of fixing France's public finances. In just a year and a half before the end of Macron's presidency, he cautioned that anyone joining his government would have to put on hold their aspirations for higher office.

Governing Without a Majority

What makes it even harder for Lecornu is that he will face a vote of confidence in a parliament where the president has is short of votes to endorse his government. The president's popularity reached its lowest point this week, according to research that put his public backing on 14%.

The far-right leader of the far-right National Rally, which was left out of consultations with faction heads on Friday, commented that Lecornu's reappointment, by a president increasingly isolated at the Élysée, is a misstep.

His party would promptly introduce a motion of censure against a failing government, whose only reason for being was avoiding a vote, Bardella added.

Seeking Support

The prime minister at least knows the pitfalls he faces as he tries to establish a cabinet, because he has already used time lately consulting political groups that might support him.

Alone, the central groups cannot form a government, and there are splits within the traditionalists who have helped prop up the administration since he lacked support in the previous vote.

So Lecornu will look to progressive groups for future alliances.

In an attempt to court the left, officials hinted the president was evaluating a pause to portions of his controversial social security adjustments passed in 2023 which raised the retirement age from 62 up to 64.

That fell short of what left-wing leaders wanted, as they were hoping he would select a premier from their side. The Socialist leader of the Socialists stated “since we've not been given any guarantees, we won't give any guarantee” to back the prime minister.

The Communist figure from the Communists commented post-consultation that the left wanted genuine reform, and a premier from the president's centrist camp would not be accepted by the public.

Greens leader the Green figure remarked she was surprised the president had given minimal offers to the progressives, adding that the situation would deteriorate.