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The French leader has requested his former prime minister to resume duties as head of government only four days after he stepped down, triggering a stretch of high drama and crisis.

The president stated late on Friday, shortly after meeting leading factions in one place at the presidential palace, excluding the figures of the far right and far left.

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

Doubts remain whether he will be able to assemble a cabinet, but he will have to start immediately. The new prime minister faces a deadline on the start of the week to submit financial plans before parliament.

Governing Obstacles and Fiscal Demands

The Élysée announced the president had assigned him to build a cabinet, and Macron's entourage suggested he had been given complete freedom to make decisions.

The prime minister, who is one of a trusted associate, then published a long statement on X in which he accepted as an obligation the assignment given to him by the president, to strive to finalize financial plans by the year's conclusion and respond to the everyday problems of our compatriots.

Political divisions over how to reduce France's national debt and reduce the fiscal shortfall have caused the ouster of multiple premiers in the last year, so his task is immense.

Government liabilities in the past months was close to 114% of gross domestic product – the third highest in the eurozone – and the annual fiscal gap is expected to amount to 5.4% of economic output.

The premier emphasized that “no-one will be able to shirk” the imperative of fixing the nation's budget. With only 18 months before the completion of his mandate, he cautioned that anyone joining his government would have to set aside their presidential ambitions.

Governing Without a Majority

Adding to the difficulty for Lecornu is that he will face a parliamentary test in a parliament where the president has no majority to support him. The president's popularity reached its lowest point recently, according to an Elabe poll that put his support level on 14%.

The far-right leader of the far-right National Rally, which was left out of consultations with political chiefs on the end of the week, remarked that the decision, by a president increasingly isolated at the presidential palace, is a “bad joke”.

The National Rally would quickly propose a motion of censure against a struggling administration, whose only reason for being was avoiding a vote, the leader stated.

Seeking Support

Lecornu at least understands the obstacles in his path as he tries to build a coalition, because he has already devoted 48 hours lately meeting with political groups that might support him.

Alone, the central groups are insufficient, and there are splits within the conservative Republicans who have helped prop up the ruling coalition since he lost his majority in the previous vote.

So Lecornu will look to progressive groups for potential support.

As a gesture to progressives, Macron's team indicated the president was considering a delay to some aspects of his divisive social security adjustments passed in 2023 which extended working life from the early sixties.

That fell short of what left-wing leaders wanted, as they were expecting he would select a leader from the left. Olivier Faure of the leftist party commented lacking commitments, they would withhold backing in a vote of confidence.

Fabien Roussel from the Communists commented post-consultation that the left wanted genuine reform, and a prime minister from the president's centrist camp would not be endorsed by the citizens.

Environmental party head the Green figure remarked she was surprised the president had given minimal offers to the left, adding that the situation would deteriorate.