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President Emmanuel Macron has asked Sébastien Lecornu to resume duties as the nation's premier just days after he resigned, causing a stretch of political upheaval and political turmoil.

Macron declared towards the end of the week, hours after meeting all the main parties together at the Élysée Palace, omitting the representatives of the extremist parties.

His reappointment came as a surprise, as he stated on broadcast recently that he was not seeking the position and his task was complete.

It is not even certain whether he will be able to form a government, but he will have to start immediately. He faces a cut-off on Monday to present the annual budget before the National Assembly.

Leadership Hurdles and Budgetary Strains

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

The prime minister, who is one of a trusted associate, then issued a long statement on an online platform in which he consented to responsibly the mission given to him by the president, to do everything to secure a national budget by the December and respond to the everyday problems of our compatriots.

Partisan conflicts over how to bring down France's national debt and reduce the fiscal shortfall have led to the ouster of two of the past three prime ministers in the last year, so his challenge is enormous.

The nation's debt recently was almost 114% of gross domestic product – the third largest in the currency union – and the annual fiscal gap is expected to hit 5.4% of GDP.

Lecornu said that everyone must contribute the necessity of fixing government accounts. In just a year and a half before the end of Macron's presidency, he cautioned that anyone joining his government would have to put on hold their political goals.

Ruling Amid Division

What makes it even harder for Lecornu is that he will face a vote of confidence in a legislative body where Macron has no majority to back him. His public standing hit a record low in the latest survey, according to an Elabe poll that put his approval rating on just 14%.

Jordan Bardella of the far-right National Rally, which was left out of the president's discussions with political chiefs on Friday, remarked that the prime minister's return, by a president increasingly isolated at the presidential palace, is a poor decision.

His party would promptly introduce a motion of censure against a struggling administration, whose main motivation was avoiding a vote, Bardella added.

Seeking Support

Lecornu at least knows the pitfalls in his path as he tries to establish a cabinet, because he has already devoted 48 hours recently meeting with parties that might support him.

Alone, the moderate factions cannot form a government, and there are disagreements within the traditionalists who have supported the ruling coalition since he failed to secure enough seats in recent polls.

So Lecornu will look to socialist factions for possible backing.

To gain leftist support, Macron's team indicated the president was considering a delay to portions of his highly contentious retirement changes implemented recently which raised the retirement age from 62 up to 64.

It was insufficient of what progressive chiefs hoped for, as they were hoping he would appoint a premier from their camp. The Socialist leader of the leftist party commented without assurances, they would offer no support for the premier.

The Communist figure from the left-wing party commented post-consultation that the progressive camp wanted substantive shifts, and a premier from the president's centrist camp would not be supported by the French people.

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