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President Emmanuel Macron has asked his former prime minister to come back as head of government just days after he left the post, triggering a period of high drama and instability.

The president stated on Friday evening, shortly after gathering all the main parties in one place at the official residence, except for the representatives of the political extremes.

The decision to reinstate him was unexpected, as he declared on television just 48 hours prior that he was not interested in returning and his role had concluded.

Doubts remain whether he will be able to establish a ruling coalition, but he will have to hit the ground running. The new prime minister faces a deadline on Monday to submit financial plans before parliament.

Political Challenges and Budgetary Strains

The Élysée confirmed the president had “tasked [Lecornu] with forming a government”, and Macron's entourage indicated he had been given full authority to act.

Lecornu, who is one of Macron's closest allies, then released a detailed message on an online platform in which he accepted “out of duty” the mission given to him by the president, to make every effort to provide France with a budget by the end of the year and tackle the common issues of our compatriots.

Partisan conflicts over how to bring down government borrowing and cut the budget deficit have resulted in the ouster of several leaders in the last year, so his task is daunting.

France's public debt earlier this year was close to 114% of economic output (GDP) – the third largest in the currency union – and the annual fiscal gap is estimated to reach over five percent of economic output.

Lecornu stated that “no-one will be able to shirk” the imperative of restoring the nation's budget. In just a year and a half before the conclusion of his term, he advised that those in the cabinet would have to put on hold their presidential ambitions.

Ruling Amid Division

What makes it even harder for the prime minister is that he will face a show of support in a legislative body where the president has is short of votes to back him. The president's popularity hit a record low recently, according to research that put his public backing on just 14%.

Jordan Bardella of the National Rally party, which was not invited of Macron's talks with political chiefs on the end of the week, remarked that Lecornu's reappointment, by a president “more than ever isolated and disconnected” at the official residence, is a misstep.

The National Rally would quickly propose a vote of no confidence against a doomed coalition, whose sole purpose was dreading polls, Bardella added.

Forming Coalitions

The prime minister at least knows the pitfalls he faces as he tries to establish a cabinet, because he has already spent two days lately meeting with parties that might join his government.

By themselves, the centrist parties are insufficient, and there are splits within the traditionalists who have supported the administration since he failed to secure enough seats in elections last year.

So Lecornu will seek left-wing parties for possible backing.

To gain leftist support, the president's advisors indicated the president was considering a delay to portions of his divisive pension reforms passed in 2023 which raised the retirement age from 62 up to 64.

The offer was inadequate of what progressive chiefs desired, as they were anticipating he would appoint a prime minister from their camp. Olivier Faure of the Socialists said without assurances, they would offer no support in a vote of confidence.

The Communist figure from the left-wing party said after meeting the president that the progressive camp wanted real change, and a prime minister from the central bloc would not be endorsed by the public.

Greens leader Marine Tondelier 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”.