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President Emmanuel Macron has called upon his former prime minister to return as French prime minister a mere four days after he left the post, triggering a stretch of political upheaval and crisis.

The president made the announcement towards the end of the week, shortly after consulting with leading factions collectively at the official residence, excluding the leaders of the extremist parties.

His reappointment came as a surprise, as he said on national TV recently that he was not “chasing the job” and his “mission is over”.

It is not even certain whether he will be able to assemble a cabinet, but he will have to hit the ground running. Lecornu faces a time limit on the start of the week to submit financial plans before parliament.

Political Challenges and Economic Pressures

Officials said the president had assigned him to build a cabinet, and Macron's entourage implied he had been given full authority to act.

Lecornu, who is one of the president's key supporters, then released a detailed message on X in which he agreed to take on as an obligation the assignment given to him by the president, to do everything to secure a national budget by the year's conclusion and tackle the everyday problems of our countrymen.

Ideological disagreements over how to reduce government borrowing and cut the budget deficit have led to the ouster of several leaders in the past twelve months, so his task is daunting.

The nation's debt recently was close to 114% of national income – the number three in the euro area – and the annual fiscal gap is projected to reach over five percent of economic output.

The premier emphasized that no one can avoid the need of repairing government accounts. With only 18 months before the end of Macron's presidency, he advised that those in the cabinet would have to delay their presidential ambitions.

Ruling Amid Division

Compounding the challenge for the prime minister is that he will face a vote of confidence in a legislative body where the president has no majority to endorse his government. His public standing plummeted recently, according to an Elabe poll that put his approval rating on 14%.

Jordan Bardella of the National Rally party, which was excluded of consultations with political chiefs on Friday, commented that the prime minister's return, by a president “more than ever isolated and disconnected” at the presidential palace, is a poor decision.

The National Rally would immediately bring a vote of no confidence against a struggling administration, whose main motivation was fear of an election, Bardella added.

Seeking Support

Lecornu at least understands the obstacles he faces as he tries to establish a cabinet, because he has already spent two days this week consulting parties that might participate in his administration.

On their own, the central groups lack a majority, and there are splits within the traditionalists who have helped prop up Macron's governments since he lacked support in the previous vote.

So Lecornu will consider progressive groups for future alliances.

As a gesture to progressives, the president's advisors suggested the president was considering a delay to part of his controversial retirement changes implemented recently which increased the pension age from 62 to 64.

It was insufficient of what left-wing leaders wanted, as they were hoping he would choose a leader from their side. The Socialist leader of the Socialists commented “since we've not been given any guarantees, we won't give any guarantee” for the premier.

The Communist figure from the Communists stated following discussions that the left wanted genuine reform, and a premier from the president's centrist camp would not be supported by the public.

Environmental party head Marine Tondelier expressed shock Macron had provided few concessions to the left, adding that “all of this is going to turn out very badly”.