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President Emmanuel Macron has called upon Sébastien Lecornu to come back as French prime minister only four days after he left the post, triggering a period of high drama and instability.

Macron declared on Friday evening, hours after consulting with all the main parties collectively at the Élysée Palace, excluding the representatives of the far right and far left.

Lecornu's return was unexpected, as he declared on broadcast just 48 hours prior that he was not seeking the position and his “mission is over”.

Doubts remain whether he will be able to assemble a cabinet, but he will have to act quickly. Lecornu faces a deadline on Monday to put next year's budget before the National Assembly.

Governing Obstacles and Budgetary Strains

The presidency said the president had “tasked [Lecornu] with forming a government”, and those close to the president suggested he had been given “carte blanche” to proceed.

Lecornu, who is one of the president's key supporters, then released a detailed message on X in which he consented to as an obligation the mission assigned by the president, to strive to provide France with a budget by the end of the year and respond to the everyday problems of our fellow citizens.

Partisan conflicts over how to lower the country's public debt and reduce the fiscal shortfall have resulted in the resignation of two of the past three prime ministers in the last year, so his challenge is daunting.

Government liabilities in the past months was nearly 114 percent of economic output (GDP) – the third highest in the currency union – and the annual fiscal gap is projected to amount to 5.4% of the economy.

The premier emphasized that no one can avoid the imperative of repairing France's public finances. With only 18 months before the completion of his mandate, he advised that anyone joining his government would have to set aside their aspirations for higher office.

Governing Without a Majority

Compounding the challenge for the prime minister is that he will face a show of support in a parliament where Macron has is short of votes to support him. Macron's approval hit a record low this week, according to research that put his support level on 14%.

The far-right leader of the far-right National Rally, which was left out of Macron's talks with political chiefs on Friday, remarked that Lecornu's reappointment, by a president increasingly isolated at the Élysée, is a misstep.

They would promptly introduce a challenge against a doomed coalition, whose sole purpose was fear of an election, he continued.

Seeking Support

Lecornu at least knows the pitfalls ahead as he tries to form a government, because he has already devoted 48 hours this week consulting political groups that might join his government.

On their own, the central groups are insufficient, and there are divisions within the conservative Republicans who have supported the administration since he failed to secure enough seats in elections last year.

So he will look to socialist factions for potential support.

As a gesture to progressives, the president's advisors suggested the president was thinking of postponing to portions of his highly contentious retirement changes passed in 2023 which increased the pension age from 62 to 64.

It was insufficient of what socialist figures hoped for, as they were hoping he would select a premier from the left. Olivier Faure of the Socialists said without assurances, they would offer no support to back the prime minister.

The Communist figure from the Communists said after meeting the president that the left wanted genuine reform, and a premier from the moderate faction would not be supported by the public.

Environmental party head the Green figure remarked she was surprised Macron had given minimal offers to the progressives, adding that “all of this is going to turn out very badly”.