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President Emmanuel Macron has asked Sébastien Lecornu to come back as head of government only four days after he stepped down, triggering a stretch of high drama and instability.

The president stated towards the end of the week, hours after meeting all the main parties in one place at the Élysée Palace, except for the representatives of the far right and far left.

The decision to reinstate him shocked many, as he declared on television only two days ago that he was not interested in returning and his “mission is over”.

Doubts remain whether he will be able to establish a ruling coalition, but he will have to act quickly. The new prime minister faces a time limit on the start of the week to present the annual budget before lawmakers.

Governing Obstacles and Fiscal Demands

The presidency said the president had assigned him to build a cabinet, and Macron's entourage indicated he had been given “carte blanche” to make decisions.

Lecornu, who is one of Macron's closest allies, then published a detailed message on X in which he accepted “out of duty” the assignment entrusted to me by the president, to make every effort to secure a national budget by the end of the year and tackle the everyday problems of our compatriots.

Partisan conflicts over how to reduce government borrowing and cut the budget deficit have caused the ouster of two of the past three prime ministers in the past twelve months, so his challenge is daunting.

France's public debt recently was nearly 114 percent of national income – the third highest in the currency union – and this year's budget deficit is estimated to reach 5.4 percent of the economy.

The premier stated that “no-one will be able to shirk” the necessity of repairing France's public finances. Given the limited time before the end of Macron's presidency, he warned that prospective ministers would have to set aside their political goals.

Leading Without Support

Adding to the difficulty for the prime minister is that he will face a parliamentary test in a National Assembly where the president has is short of votes to support him. The president's popularity plummeted recently, according to research that put his approval rating on 14%.

Jordan Bardella of the right-wing group, which was not invited of Macron's talks with faction heads on the end of the week, remarked that the prime minister's return, by a president “more than ever isolated and disconnected” at the Élysée, is a poor decision.

The National Rally would promptly introduce a motion of censure against a struggling administration, whose sole purpose was dreading polls, the leader stated.

Seeking Support

The prime minister at least is aware of the challenges ahead as he tries to build a coalition, because he has already spent two days this week consulting factions that might support him.

Alone, the centrist parties are insufficient, and there are splits within the traditionalists who have helped prop up the administration since he lost his majority in recent polls.

So he will seek left-wing parties for possible backing.

As a gesture to progressives, the president's advisors hinted the president was thinking of postponing to part of his highly contentious retirement changes enacted last year which increased the pension age from 62 to 64.

That fell short of what socialist figures desired, as they were hoping he would appoint a leader from their side. The Socialist leader of the leftist party commented lacking commitments, they would withhold backing in a vote of confidence.

The Communist figure from the Communists said after meeting the president that the progressive camp wanted real change, and a leader from the central bloc would not be accepted by the French people.

Environmental party head the Green figure expressed shock Macron had provided few concessions to the progressives, adding that outcomes would be negative.