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President Emmanuel Macron has asked Sébastien Lecornu to return as French prime minister only four days after he stepped down, causing a period of intense uncertainty and political turmoil.

Macron stated late on Friday, hours after gathering all the main parties together at the Élysée Palace, excluding the figures of the political extremes.

The decision to reinstate him came as a surprise, as he said on television only two days ago that he was not seeking the position and his “mission is over”.

There is uncertainty whether he will be able to establish a ruling coalition, but he will have to start immediately. He faces a time limit on the start of the week to present the annual budget before parliament.

Governing Obstacles and Fiscal Demands

The Élysée confirmed the president had assigned him to build a cabinet, and his advisors indicated he had been given complete freedom to make decisions.

Lecornu, who is one of a trusted associate, then released a long statement on social media in which he consented to “out of duty” the assignment entrusted to me by the president, to do everything to secure a national budget by the December and address the everyday problems of our fellow citizens.

Ideological disagreements over how to lower the country's public debt and balance the books have led to the resignation of multiple premiers in the recent period, so his mission is enormous.

The nation's debt earlier this year was almost 114% of national income – the number three in the eurozone – and the annual fiscal gap is projected to hit 5.4% of GDP.

The premier said that no one can avoid the imperative of repairing France's public finances. Given the limited time before the conclusion of his term, he warned that prospective ministers would have to delay their aspirations for higher office.

Leading Without Support

What makes it even harder for Lecornu is that he will face a parliamentary test in a parliament where Macron has no majority to endorse his government. The president's popularity hit a record low this week, according to a survey that put his public backing on 14%.

The far-right leader of the far-right National Rally, which was excluded of the president's discussions with party leaders on the end of the week, commented that Lecornu's reappointment, by a president out of touch at the Élysée, is a “bad joke”.

His party would immediately bring a challenge against a struggling administration, whose main motivation was fear of an election, the leader stated.

Forming Coalitions

The prime minister at least knows the pitfalls in his path as he tries to form a government, because he has already used time this week meeting with political groups that might participate in his administration.

On their own, the centrist parties lack a majority, and there are divisions within the right-leaning party who have supported Macron's governments since he lost his majority in recent polls.

So Lecornu will seek socialist factions for possible backing.

To gain leftist support, Macron's team indicated the president was evaluating a pause to some aspects of his controversial social security adjustments enacted last year which increased the pension age from 62 to 64.

That fell short of what socialist figures hoped for, as they were hoping he would choose a premier from the left. The Socialist leader of the Socialists said lacking commitments, they would withhold backing in a vote of confidence.

The Communist figure from the left-wing party stated following discussions that the left wanted substantive shifts, and a premier from the moderate faction would not be accepted by the citizens.

Greens leader Marine Tondelier expressed shock Macron had given minimal offers to the progressives, adding that “all of this is going to turn out very badly”.