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The French leader has asked Sébastien Lecornu to return as the nation's premier a mere four days after he stepped down, sparking a period of political upheaval and political turmoil.

The president declared late on Friday, hours after gathering all the main parties in one place at the official residence, omitting the representatives of the political extremes.

The decision to reinstate him shocked many, as he stated on broadcast only two days ago that he was not interested in returning and his “mission is over”.

There is uncertainty whether he will be able to establish a ruling coalition, but he will have to hit the ground running. He faces a cut-off on Monday to put next year's budget before lawmakers.

Leadership Hurdles and Fiscal Demands

The Élysée confirmed the president had given him the duty of creating a administration, and Macron's entourage suggested he had been given complete freedom to proceed.

The prime minister, who is one of the president's key supporters, then published a comprehensive announcement on an online platform in which he agreed to take on as an obligation the task given to him by the president, to do everything to secure a national budget by the year's conclusion and tackle the everyday problems of our compatriots.

Ideological disagreements over how to bring down government borrowing and balance the books have caused the fall of two of the past three prime ministers in the recent period, so his task is immense.

The nation's debt in the past months was close to 114% of gross domestic product – the third highest in the eurozone – and the annual fiscal gap is estimated to hit 5.4 percent of the economy.

The premier stated that “no-one will be able to shirk” the necessity of restoring France's public finances. In just a year and a half before the end of Macron's presidency, he warned that those in the cabinet would have to put on hold their aspirations for higher office.

Ruling Amid Division

What makes it even harder for Lecornu is that he will face a parliamentary test in a legislative body where Macron has is short of votes to endorse his government. The president's popularity hit a record low in the latest survey, according to an Elabe poll that put his public backing on 14%.

The far-right leader of the right-wing group, which was excluded of Macron's talks with faction heads on Friday, commented that Lecornu's reappointment, by a president out of touch at the presidential palace, is a poor decision.

They would promptly introduce a vote of no confidence against a failing government, whose only reason for being was avoiding a vote, Bardella added.

Building Alliances

The prime minister at least understands the obstacles in his path as he tries to establish a cabinet, because he has already devoted 48 hours lately meeting with factions that might join his government.

By themselves, the centrist parties lack a majority, and there are disagreements within the conservative Republicans who have helped prop up Macron's governments since he lacked support in the previous vote.

So Lecornu will consider left-wing parties for potential support.

As a gesture to progressives, Macron's team indicated the president was thinking of postponing to portions of his divisive social security adjustments enacted last year which raised the retirement age from the early sixties.

The offer was inadequate of what progressive chiefs desired, as they were anticipating he would select a prime minister from the left. The Socialist leader of the leftist party said without assurances, they would offer no support in a vote of confidence.

The Communist figure from the left-wing party commented post-consultation that the progressive camp wanted substantive shifts, and a premier from the moderate faction would not be accepted by the public.

Environmental party head Marine Tondelier said she was “stunned” the president had provided few concessions to the progressives, adding that “all of this is going to turn out very badly”.