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The French leader has called upon Sébastien Lecornu to return as the nation's premier just days after he resigned, triggering a week of political upheaval and political turmoil.

The president stated late on Friday, shortly after consulting with all the main parties together at the Élysée Palace, except for the representatives of the far right and far left.

The decision to reinstate him came as a surprise, as he declared on television only two days ago that he was not “chasing the job” and his task was complete.

It is not even certain whether he will be able to form a government, but he will have to start immediately. The new prime minister faces a time limit on Monday to submit financial plans before parliament.

Leadership Hurdles and Budgetary Strains

The Élysée said the president had assigned him to build a cabinet, and his advisors suggested he had been given full authority to proceed.

The prime minister, who is one of Macron's closest allies, then published a detailed message on X in which he consented to “out of duty” the mission entrusted to me by the president, to do everything to secure a national budget by the year's conclusion and tackle the common issues of our fellow citizens.

Political divisions over how to bring down the country's public debt and balance the books have led to the ouster of two of the past three prime ministers in the last year, so his task is immense.

Government liabilities earlier this year was almost 114% of national income – the third highest in the euro area – and this year's budget deficit is expected to hit 5.4 percent of economic output.

The premier said that “no-one will be able to shirk” the necessity of repairing government accounts. In just a year and a half before the completion of his mandate, he warned that those in the cabinet would have to set aside their aspirations for higher office.

Governing Without a Majority

Compounding the challenge for the prime minister is that he will face a show of support in a National Assembly where Macron has no majority to endorse his government. The president's popularity hit a record low recently, according to an Elabe poll that put his support level on 14%.

Jordan Bardella of the far-right National Rally, which was excluded of Macron's talks with faction heads on the end of the week, commented that Lecornu's reappointment, by a president increasingly isolated at the presidential palace, is a “bad joke”.

They would quickly propose a challenge against a struggling administration, whose only reason for being was fear of an election, he continued.

Seeking Support

Lecornu at least is aware of the challenges ahead as he tries to establish a cabinet, because he has already devoted 48 hours recently meeting with parties that might participate in his administration.

By themselves, the centrist parties lack a majority, and there are disagreements within the conservative Republicans who have supported the ruling coalition since he lost his majority in the previous vote.

So Lecornu will consider left-wing parties for future alliances.

To gain leftist support, Macron's team suggested the president was considering a delay to part of his controversial pension reforms passed in 2023 which increased the pension age from 62 to 64.

That fell short of what progressive chiefs hoped for, as they were expecting he would appoint a premier from their side. The Socialist leader of the Socialists commented without assurances, they would offer no support for the premier.

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

Environmental party head the Green figure remarked she was surprised Macron had offered the left almost nothing to the progressives, adding that “all of this is going to turn out very badly”.