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The French leader has requested Sébastien Lecornu to resume duties as French prime minister just days after he stepped down, triggering a period of high drama and instability.

Macron made the announcement towards the end of the week, hours after consulting with key political groups together at the official residence, except for the figures of the far right and far left.

The decision to reinstate him came as a surprise, as he declared on national TV only two days ago that he was not seeking the position and his role had concluded.

It is not even certain whether he will be able to assemble a cabinet, but he will have to start immediately. The new prime minister faces a time limit on the start of the week to submit financial plans before lawmakers.

Political Challenges and Economic Pressures

The Élysée said the president had “tasked [Lecornu] with forming a government”, and his advisors suggested he had been given complete freedom to make decisions.

Lecornu, who is one of Macron's closest allies, then issued a long statement on X in which he consented to responsibly the mission entrusted to me by the president, to do everything to finalize financial plans by the year's conclusion and address the daily concerns of our fellow citizens.

Political divisions over how to bring down the country's public debt and reduce the fiscal shortfall have led to the ouster of two of the past three prime ministers in the recent period, so his mission is daunting.

France's public debt in the past months was almost 114% of economic output (GDP) – the third largest in the euro area – and the annual fiscal gap is projected to reach over five percent of the economy.

The premier said that everyone must contribute the imperative of repairing France's public finances. Given the limited time before the conclusion of his term, he cautioned that those in the cabinet would have to set aside their presidential ambitions.

Governing Without a Majority

Compounding the challenge for Lecornu is that he will face a vote of confidence in a National Assembly where the president has no majority to support him. His public standing hit a record low recently, according to a survey that put his approval rating on 14%.

The far-right leader of the National Rally party, which was excluded of consultations with political chiefs on the end of the week, remarked that the decision, by a president “more than ever isolated and disconnected” at the official residence, is a poor decision.

His party would quickly propose a vote of no confidence against a struggling administration, whose main motivation was avoiding a vote, the leader stated.

Building Alliances

Lecornu at least is aware of the challenges he faces as he tries to establish a cabinet, because he has already spent two days recently meeting with political groups that might support him.

Alone, the centrist parties lack a majority, and there are divisions within the conservative Republicans who have assisted the ruling coalition since he failed to secure enough seats in elections last year.

So Lecornu will consider socialist factions for potential support.

As a gesture to progressives, Macron's team suggested the president was thinking of postponing to portions of his highly contentious pension reforms passed in 2023 which increased the pension age from 62 to 64.

That fell short of what progressive chiefs wanted, as they were anticipating he would choose a prime minister from the left. The Socialist leader of the leftist party commented without assurances, they would offer no support for the premier.

The Communist figure from the Communists stated following discussions that the progressive camp wanted genuine reform, and a leader from the president's centrist camp would not be endorsed by the citizens.

Environmental party head the Green figure expressed shock the president had offered the left almost nothing to the left, adding that “all of this is going to turn out very badly”.