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President Emmanuel Macron has requested Sébastien Lecornu to come back as head of government only four days after he resigned, triggering a period of political upheaval and political turmoil.

Macron stated late on Friday, hours after gathering leading factions collectively at the presidential palace, except for the leaders of the far right and far left.

The decision to reinstate him came as a surprise, as he said on broadcast recently that he was not seeking the position and his task was complete.

Doubts remain whether he will be able to form a government, but he will have to start immediately. Lecornu faces a cut-off on the start of the week to submit financial plans before parliament.

Political Challenges and Budgetary Strains

Officials 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 Macron's closest allies, then issued a long statement on X in which he agreed to take on “out of duty” the task given to him by the president, to make every effort to secure a national budget by the December and tackle the everyday problems of our countrymen.

Political divisions over how to bring down government borrowing and cut the budget deficit have caused the ouster of two of the past three prime ministers in the recent period, so his challenge is daunting.

The nation's debt in the past months was close to 114% of gross domestic product – the third highest in the eurozone – and the annual fiscal gap is estimated to hit 5.4 percent of the economy.

Lecornu said that “no-one will be able to shirk” the necessity of repairing France's public finances. With only 18 months before the conclusion of his term, he cautioned that anyone joining his government would have to set aside their political goals.

Ruling Amid Division

Adding to the difficulty for Lecornu is that he will face a show of support in a National Assembly where Macron has lacks sufficient support to support him. Macron's approval reached its lowest point in the latest survey, according to a survey that put his approval rating on 14 percent.

The far-right leader of the far-right National Rally, which was left out of the president's discussions with political chiefs on the end of the week, said that the prime minister's return, by a president out of touch at the Élysée, is a poor decision.

They would quickly propose a challenge against a doomed coalition, whose only reason for being was avoiding a vote, Bardella added.

Seeking Support

The prime minister at least knows the pitfalls in his path as he tries to build a coalition, because he has already used time recently consulting factions that might support him.

On their own, the moderate factions lack a majority, and there are disagreements within the conservative Republicans who have supported the administration since he failed to secure enough seats in elections last year.

So Lecornu will look to progressive groups for possible backing.

In an attempt to court the left, the president's advisors indicated the president was thinking of postponing to some aspects of his divisive retirement changes enacted last year which increased the pension age from 62 to 64.

The offer was inadequate of what progressive chiefs desired, as they were expecting he would choose a prime minister from the left. Olivier Faure of the Socialists stated 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 president's centrist camp would not be supported by the public.

Greens leader Marine Tondelier expressed shock Macron had offered the left almost nothing to the left, adding that “all of this is going to turn out very badly”.