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President Emmanuel Macron has asked Sébastien Lecornu to come back as French prime minister only four days after he resigned, sparking a week of political upheaval and crisis.

Macron declared late on Friday, shortly after gathering all the main parties collectively at the official residence, omitting the representatives of the extremist parties.

Lecornu's return shocked many, as he said on national TV recently that he was not “chasing the job” and his role had concluded.

It is not even certain whether he will be able to assemble a cabinet, but he will have to act quickly. He faces a cut-off on Monday to present the annual budget before the National Assembly.

Governing Obstacles and Budgetary Strains

Officials said the president had given him the duty of creating a administration, and Macron's entourage implied he had been given “carte blanche” to act.

The prime minister, who is one of the president's key supporters, then released a comprehensive announcement on an online platform in which he accepted “out of duty” the assignment entrusted to me by the president, to strive to provide France with a budget by the December and tackle the common issues of our compatriots.

Ideological disagreements over how to bring down the country's public debt and cut the budget deficit have led to the resignation of several leaders in the past twelve months, so his mission is immense.

The nation's debt in the past months was close to 114% of economic output (GDP) – the number three in the currency union – and current shortfall is estimated to reach 5.4 percent of GDP.

The premier emphasized that everyone must contribute the necessity of fixing the nation's budget. With only 18 months before the completion of his mandate, he cautioned that those in the cabinet would have to put on hold their political goals.

Leading Without Support

Compounding the challenge for Lecornu is that he will face a vote of confidence in a legislative body where Macron has no majority to endorse his government. The president's popularity reached its lowest point recently, according to a survey that put his approval rating on 14%.

Jordan Bardella of the far-right National Rally, which was not invited of consultations with party leaders on Friday, said that the decision, by a president out of touch at the Élysée, is a “bad joke”.

The National Rally would immediately bring a challenge against a doomed coalition, whose main motivation was dreading polls, the leader stated.

Forming Coalitions

Lecornu at least is aware of the challenges in his path as he tries to form a government, because he has already used time lately consulting political groups that might participate in his administration.

On their own, the moderate factions lack a majority, and there are divisions within the right-leaning party who have assisted the ruling coalition since he lost his majority in elections last year.

So Lecornu will look to progressive groups for possible backing.

As a gesture to progressives, the president's advisors suggested the president was considering a delay to some aspects of his controversial social security adjustments passed in 2023 which extended working life from the early sixties.

The offer was inadequate of what socialist figures hoped for, as they were expecting he would choose a premier from their side. Olivier Faure of the leftist party said “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 stated following discussions that the progressive camp wanted real change, and a prime minister from the moderate faction would not be accepted by the public.

Environmental party head Marine Tondelier expressed shock Macron had given minimal offers to the progressives, adding that “all of this is going to turn out very badly”.