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President Emmanuel Macron has asked his former prime minister to resume duties as French prime minister only four days after he resigned, sparking a week of intense uncertainty and political turmoil.

Macron stated late on Friday, following gathering all the main parties collectively at the Élysée Palace, except for the representatives of the political extremes.

Lecornu's return came as a surprise, as he declared on television recently that he was not seeking the position 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. The new prime minister faces a cut-off on Monday to put next year's budget before parliament.

Governing Obstacles and Economic Pressures

The presidency announced the president had given him the duty of creating a administration, and Macron's entourage indicated he had been given full authority to proceed.

The prime minister, who is one of a trusted associate, then released a long statement on social media in which he agreed to take on as an obligation the mission assigned by the president, to make every effort to provide France with a budget by the year's conclusion and tackle the daily concerns of our compatriots.

Partisan conflicts over how to lower the country's public debt and cut the budget deficit have led to the resignation of multiple premiers in the last year, so his mission is daunting.

Government liabilities recently was almost 114% of gross domestic product – the number three in the currency union – and current shortfall is projected to reach 5.4% of the economy.

The premier stated that “no-one will be able to shirk” the imperative of restoring the nation's budget. Given the limited time 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

Compounding the challenge for the prime minister is that he will face a show of support in a parliament where the president has no majority to back him. His public standing reached its lowest point recently, according to an Elabe poll that put his public backing on 14%.

The far-right leader of the far-right National Rally, which was not invited of the president's discussions with party leaders on the end of the week, commented that the decision, by a president out of touch at the Élysée, is a misstep.

They would quickly propose a motion of censure against a struggling administration, whose sole purpose was avoiding a vote, he continued.

Forming Coalitions

The prime minister at least is aware of the challenges he faces as he tries to build a coalition, because he has already devoted 48 hours lately talking to parties that might join his government.

Alone, the moderate factions are insufficient, and there are disagreements within the conservative Republicans who have supported the ruling coalition since he failed to secure enough seats in the previous vote.

So Lecornu will seek socialist factions for future alliances.

In an attempt to court the left, the president's advisors indicated the president was evaluating a pause to some aspects of his controversial social security adjustments enacted last year which extended working life from 62 to 64.

That fell short of what socialist figures hoped for, as they were expecting he would appoint a leader from the left. The Socialist leader of the Socialists commented without assurances, they would offer no support in a vote of confidence.

Fabien Roussel from the Communists commented post-consultation that the progressive camp wanted real change, and a premier from the moderate faction would not be endorsed by the public.

Environmental party head the Green figure said she was “stunned” Macron had offered the left almost nothing to the progressives, adding that the situation would deteriorate.