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The French leader has asked Sébastien Lecornu to resume duties as the nation's premier just days after he stepped down, sparking a period of high drama and crisis.

The president stated late on Friday, hours after gathering all the main parties together at the official residence, except for the representatives of the far right and far left.

Lecornu's return shocked many, as he stated on national TV just 48 hours prior that he was not seeking the position and his “mission is over”.

Doubts remain whether he will be able to form a government, but he will have to act quickly. Lecornu faces a deadline on the start of the week to present the annual budget before the National Assembly.

Leadership Hurdles and Budgetary Strains

The presidency said the president had assigned him to build a cabinet, and Macron's entourage suggested he had been given “carte blanche” to act.

The prime minister, who is one of Macron's closest allies, then released a detailed message on an online platform in which he accepted as an obligation the task given to him by the president, to do everything to provide France with a budget by the end of the year and respond to the everyday problems of our fellow citizens.

Political divisions over how to lower government borrowing and cut the budget deficit have caused the ouster of two of the past three prime ministers in the last year, so his mission is immense.

France's public debt in the past months was nearly 114 percent of economic output (GDP) – the number three in the eurozone – and the annual fiscal gap is projected to reach 5.4 percent of the economy.

Lecornu said that everyone must contribute the imperative of restoring government accounts. In just a year and a half before the conclusion of his term, he cautioned that those in the cabinet would have to set aside 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 National Assembly where Macron has is short of votes to support him. Macron's approval hit a record low recently, according to research that put his support level on 14 percent.

The far-right leader of the far-right National Rally, which was excluded of consultations with political chiefs on Friday, remarked that the prime minister's return, by a president out of touch at the presidential palace, is a misstep.

The National Rally would immediately bring a motion of censure against a doomed coalition, whose sole purpose was avoiding a vote, he continued.

Building Alliances

Lecornu at least understands the obstacles in his path as he tries to build a coalition, because he has already used time lately consulting parties that might support him.

Alone, the centrist parties lack a majority, and there are disagreements within the conservative Republicans who have assisted Macron's governments since he lacked support in recent polls.

So Lecornu will consider socialist factions for future alliances.

To gain leftist support, officials indicated the president was thinking of postponing to part of his controversial retirement changes passed in 2023 which raised the retirement age from 62 to 64.

It was insufficient of what socialist figures hoped for, as they were anticipating he would select a premier from the left. Olivier Faure of the leftist party stated “since we've not been given any guarantees, we won't give any guarantee” 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 prime minister from the president's centrist camp would not be accepted by the public.

Environmental party head Marine Tondelier expressed shock Macron had given minimal offers to the left, adding that “all of this is going to turn out very badly”.