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President Emmanuel Macron has requested his former prime minister to come back as French prime minister only four days after he resigned, sparking a period of political upheaval and political turmoil.

The president declared towards the end of the week, hours after meeting all the main parties in one place at the Élysée Palace, except for the figures of the extremist parties.

Lecornu's return came as a surprise, as he said on broadcast just 48 hours prior that he was not seeking the position and his role had concluded.

There is uncertainty whether he will be able to form a government, but he will have to hit the ground running. The new prime minister faces a time limit on Monday to put next year's budget before the National Assembly.

Political Challenges and Fiscal Demands

The Élysée announced the president had “tasked [Lecornu] with forming a government”, and those close to the president suggested he had been given complete freedom to make decisions.

The prime minister, who is one of a trusted associate, then issued a detailed message on social media in which he consented to as an obligation the task assigned by the president, to make every effort to secure a national budget by the December and address the everyday problems of our compatriots.

Partisan conflicts over how to lower France's national debt and cut the budget deficit have resulted in the ouster of multiple premiers in the recent period, so his task is immense.

The nation's debt in the past months was almost 114% of national income – the third highest in the currency union – and this year's budget deficit is projected to amount to 5.4% of economic output.

Lecornu emphasized that “no-one will be able to shirk” the need of fixing France's public finances. Given the limited time before the completion of his mandate, he advised that those in the cabinet would have to delay their political goals.

Leading Without Support

What makes it even harder for the prime minister is that he will face a show of support in a legislative body where Macron has lacks sufficient support to endorse his government. Macron's approval reached its lowest point this week, according to an Elabe poll that put his support level on 14%.

Jordan Bardella of the National Rally party, which was left out of Macron's talks with political chiefs on the end of the week, said that Lecornu's reappointment, by a president increasingly isolated at the Élysée, is a “bad joke”.

They would immediately bring a challenge against a doomed coalition, whose main motivation was fear of an election, he continued.

Building Alliances

Lecornu at least knows the pitfalls ahead as he tries to form a government, because he has already devoted 48 hours lately consulting factions that might participate in his administration.

Alone, the centrist parties cannot form a government, and there are disagreements within the conservative Republicans who have assisted the ruling coalition since he lacked support in recent polls.

So Lecornu will consider socialist factions for possible backing.

To gain leftist support, the president's advisors suggested the president was considering a delay to portions of his divisive pension reforms enacted last year which extended working life from 62 up to 64.

The offer was inadequate of what socialist figures hoped for, as they were expecting he would select a prime minister from the left. The Socialist leader of the Socialists stated lacking commitments, they would withhold backing for the premier.

The Communist figure from the Communists stated following discussions that the left wanted substantive shifts, and a prime minister from the president's centrist camp would not be accepted by the citizens.

Greens leader Marine Tondelier expressed shock Macron had offered the left almost nothing to the progressives, adding that outcomes would be negative.