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President Emmanuel Macron has asked his former prime minister to return as head of government only four days after he left the post, sparking a week of political upheaval and crisis.

Macron declared late on Friday, hours after gathering leading factions in one place at the presidential palace, omitting the leaders of the extremist parties.

Lecornu's return was unexpected, as he declared on broadcast recently that he was not “chasing the job” and his task was complete.

It is not even certain whether he will be able to assemble a cabinet, but he will have to act quickly. The new prime minister faces a deadline on the start of the week to submit financial plans before the National Assembly.

Leadership Hurdles and Budgetary Strains

The Élysée announced the president had given him the duty of creating a administration, and his advisors indicated he had been given complete freedom to proceed.

The prime minister, who is one of Macron's closest allies, then published a comprehensive announcement on X in which he consented to “out of duty” the task entrusted to me by the president, to strive to secure a national budget by the December and address the common issues of our fellow citizens.

Ideological disagreements over how to bring down government borrowing and cut the budget deficit have resulted in the fall of several leaders in the recent period, so his mission is immense.

The nation's debt in the past months was close to 114% of gross domestic product – the third largest in the euro area – and current shortfall is projected to amount to 5.4% of economic output.

The premier said that no one can avoid the necessity of restoring the nation's budget. With only 18 months before the completion of his mandate, he cautioned that those in the cabinet would have to delay their presidential ambitions.

Leading Without Support

Compounding the challenge for Lecornu is that he will face a parliamentary test in a parliament where the president has lacks sufficient support to support him. The president's popularity plummeted recently, according to a survey that put his approval rating on 14 percent.

The far-right leader of the far-right National Rally, which was not invited of Macron's talks with party leaders on Friday, remarked that the decision, by a president out of touch at the Élysée, is a poor decision.

The National Rally would promptly introduce a challenge against a failing government, whose sole purpose was avoiding a vote, Bardella added.

Seeking Support

The prime minister at least is aware of the challenges he faces as he tries to form a government, because he has already spent two days this week consulting factions that might join his government.

By themselves, the central groups lack a majority, and there are splits within the traditionalists who have supported Macron's governments since he lacked support in elections last year.

So he will consider left-wing parties for future alliances.

As a gesture to progressives, the president's advisors suggested the president was thinking of postponing to part of his highly contentious retirement changes passed in 2023 which extended working life from the early sixties.

That fell short of what socialist figures wanted, as they were expecting he would select a leader from their camp. The Socialist leader of the Socialists stated without assurances, they would offer no support to back the prime minister.

Fabien Roussel from the left-wing party stated following discussions that the left wanted real change, and a premier from the central bloc would not be accepted by the citizens.

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”.