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The French leader has called upon his former prime minister to come back as French prime minister a mere four days after he left the post, causing a week of intense uncertainty and crisis.

Macron stated on Friday evening, shortly after consulting with all the main parties together at the official residence, excluding the leaders of the political extremes.

The decision to reinstate him shocked many, as he said 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 assemble a cabinet, but he will have to start immediately. Lecornu faces a deadline on Monday to present the annual budget before the National Assembly.

Governing Obstacles and Economic Pressures

Officials announced the president had “tasked [Lecornu] with forming a government”, and Macron's entourage indicated he had been given “carte blanche” to make decisions.

The prime minister, who is one of Macron's closest allies, then issued a detailed message on X in which he agreed to take on “out of duty” the mission entrusted to me by the president, to make every effort to finalize financial plans by the year's conclusion and respond to the everyday problems of our countrymen.

Ideological disagreements over how to reduce France's national debt and reduce the fiscal shortfall have led to the fall of two of the past three prime ministers in the last year, so his challenge is enormous.

The nation's debt in the past months was almost 114% of national income – the third highest in the currency union – and this year's budget deficit is estimated to reach over five percent of GDP.

Lecornu stated that everyone must contribute the imperative of fixing government accounts. With only 18 months before the completion of his mandate, he advised that anyone joining his government would have to set aside their aspirations for higher office.

Ruling Amid Division

Adding to the difficulty for Lecornu is that he will face a vote of confidence in a legislative body where Macron has no majority to support him. The president's popularity hit a record low recently, according to research that put his public backing on 14 percent.

The far-right leader of the National Rally party, which was left out of Macron's talks with political chiefs on Friday, said that the prime minister's return, by a president increasingly isolated at the official residence, is a misstep.

They would quickly propose a vote of no confidence against a failing government, whose only reason for being was avoiding a vote, he continued.

Building Alliances

Lecornu at least understands the obstacles in his path as he tries to establish a cabinet, because he has already spent two days lately meeting with parties that might support him.

Alone, the centrist parties cannot form a government, and there are splits within the conservative Republicans who have helped prop up Macron's governments since he lost his majority in elections last year.

So he will consider socialist factions for potential support.

To gain leftist support, Macron's team indicated the president was thinking of postponing to portions of his divisive pension reforms passed in 2023 which extended working life from the early sixties.

It was insufficient of what left-wing leaders wanted, as they were anticipating he would select a premier from their camp. The Socialist leader of the Socialists said “since we've not been given any guarantees, we won't give any guarantee” to back the prime minister.

Fabien Roussel from the Communists commented post-consultation that the progressive camp wanted real change, and a prime minister from the moderate faction would not be accepted by the citizens.

Greens leader the Green figure remarked she was surprised the president had provided few concessions to the progressives, adding that the situation would deteriorate.