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President Emmanuel Macron has requested Sébastien Lecornu to come back as French prime minister a mere four days after he resigned, sparking a week of high drama and instability.

The president declared towards the end of the week, following meeting key political groups collectively at the Élysée Palace, except for the figures of the far right and far left.

The decision to reinstate him shocked many, as he stated on broadcast only two days ago that he was not “chasing the job” and his task was complete.

There is uncertainty whether he will be able to establish a ruling coalition, but he will have to act quickly. The new prime minister faces a cut-off on the start of the week to put next year's budget before lawmakers.

Political Challenges and Fiscal Demands

Officials said the president had given him the duty of creating a administration, and his advisors suggested he had been given complete freedom to act.

The prime minister, who is one of Macron's closest allies, then released a detailed message on an online platform in which he consented to responsibly the assignment entrusted to me by the president, to make every effort to provide France with a budget by the December and address the daily concerns of our fellow citizens.

Political divisions over how to bring down government borrowing and balance the books have led to the ouster of several leaders in the past twelve months, so his challenge is daunting.

France's public debt in the past months was close to 114% of economic output (GDP) – the third highest in the eurozone – and the annual fiscal gap is projected to reach over five percent of the economy.

The premier emphasized that everyone must contribute the imperative of restoring France's public finances. Given the limited time before the conclusion of his term, 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 show of support in a parliament where Macron has lacks sufficient support to back him. The president's popularity reached its lowest point recently, according to a survey that put his approval rating on 14 percent.

Jordan Bardella of the National Rally party, which was not invited of Macron's talks with faction heads on the end of the week, said that the decision, by a president increasingly isolated at the presidential palace, is a “bad joke”.

His party would promptly introduce a vote of no confidence against a doomed coalition, whose main motivation was avoiding a vote, Bardella added.

Seeking Support

Lecornu at least is aware of the challenges ahead as he tries to form a government, because he has already spent two days lately consulting factions that might join his government.

Alone, the moderate factions cannot form a government, and there are disagreements within the conservative Republicans who have supported the ruling coalition since he failed to secure enough seats in recent polls.

So he will seek socialist factions for potential support.

In an attempt to court the left, Macron's team indicated the president was thinking of postponing to portions of his controversial retirement changes passed in 2023 which increased the pension age from 62 to 64.

That fell short of what progressive chiefs desired, as they were hoping he would choose a prime minister from the left. The Socialist leader of the Socialists said “since we've not been given any guarantees, we won't give any guarantee” in a vote of confidence.

The Communist figure from the Communists commented post-consultation that the progressive camp wanted real change, and a premier from the moderate faction would not be supported by the citizens.

Greens leader the Green figure said she was “stunned” Macron had given minimal offers to the left, adding that “all of this is going to turn out very badly”.