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

The president made the announcement late on Friday, hours after meeting all the main parties collectively at the presidential palace, except for the leaders of the far right and far left.

The decision to reinstate him came as a surprise, as he declared on broadcast recently that he was not “chasing the job” and his “mission is over”.

It is not even certain whether he will be able to establish a ruling coalition, but he will have to hit the ground running. Lecornu faces a cut-off on the start of the week to put next year's budget before lawmakers.

Leadership Hurdles and Budgetary Strains

The Élysée said the president had “tasked [Lecornu] with forming a government”, and those close to the president indicated he had been given complete freedom to proceed.

The prime minister, who is one of a trusted associate, then published a detailed message on social media in which he agreed to take on as an obligation the assignment entrusted to me by the president, to make every effort to provide France with a budget by the December and respond to the daily concerns of our compatriots.

Partisan conflicts over how to reduce government borrowing and balance the books have caused the ouster of multiple premiers in the last year, so his mission is daunting.

Government liabilities in the past months was close to 114% of national income – the third highest in the currency union – and the annual fiscal gap is expected to amount to over five percent of economic output.

The premier emphasized that “no-one will be able to shirk” the need of repairing government accounts. With only 18 months before the completion of his mandate, he cautioned that those in the cabinet would have to set aside their aspirations for higher office.

Governing Without a Majority

Compounding the challenge for Lecornu is that he will face a vote of confidence in a National Assembly where the president has no majority to support him. Macron's approval hit a record low in the latest survey, according to a survey that put his public backing on 14%.

Jordan Bardella of the National Rally party, which was not invited of Macron's talks with political chiefs on Friday, remarked that Lecornu's reappointment, by a president increasingly isolated at the presidential palace, is a “bad joke”.

They would promptly introduce a challenge against a failing government, whose main motivation was fear of an election, Bardella added.

Building Alliances

Lecornu at least is aware of the challenges he faces as he tries to form a government, because he has already spent two days recently consulting parties that might participate in his administration.

By themselves, the central groups lack a majority, and there are splits within the conservative Republicans who have assisted the administration since he failed to secure enough seats in the previous vote.

So he will seek socialist factions for possible backing.

In an attempt to court the left, officials suggested the president was considering a delay to some aspects of his controversial retirement changes enacted last year which extended working life from 62 up to 64.

That fell short of what left-wing leaders desired, as they were anticipating he would select a leader from their camp. Olivier Faure of the Socialists stated lacking commitments, they would withhold backing for the premier.

The Communist figure from the Communists stated following discussions that the progressive camp wanted real change, and a prime minister from the moderate faction would not be accepted by the citizens.

Environmental party head the Green figure said she was “stunned” Macron had given minimal offers to the progressives, adding that outcomes would be negative.