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President Emmanuel Macron has called upon Sébastien Lecornu to return as French prime minister a mere four days after he left the post, sparking a week of high drama and crisis.

Macron declared towards the end of the week, shortly after meeting leading factions collectively at the Élysée Palace, omitting the leaders of the extremist parties.

Lecornu's return was unexpected, as he said on national TV just 48 hours prior that he was not seeking the position and his “mission is over”.

It is not even certain whether he will be able to assemble a cabinet, but he will have to act quickly. He faces a deadline on Monday to present the annual budget before parliament.

Leadership Hurdles and Economic Pressures

The Élysée said the president had given him the duty of creating a administration, and those close to the president implied he had been given full authority to act.

Lecornu, who is one of Macron's closest allies, then published a detailed message on an online platform in which he consented to as an obligation the mission entrusted to me by the president, to do everything to finalize financial plans by the end of the year and respond to the everyday problems of our compatriots.

Political divisions over how to reduce the country's public debt and balance the books have resulted in the fall of multiple premiers in the last year, so his challenge is immense.

The nation's debt in the past months was almost 114% of gross domestic product – the number three in the currency union – and the annual fiscal gap is expected to reach over five percent of GDP.

The premier said that “no-one will be able to shirk” the necessity of repairing government accounts. In just a year and a half before the end of Macron's presidency, he warned that prospective ministers 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 Macron has is short of votes to support him. His public standing plummeted recently, according to an Elabe poll that put his public backing on 14%.

Jordan Bardella of the National Rally party, which was excluded of consultations with political chiefs on the end of the week, said that Lecornu's reappointment, by a president out of touch at the presidential palace, is a misstep.

His party would promptly introduce a motion of censure against a failing government, whose only reason for being was fear of an election, he continued.

Forming Coalitions

Lecornu at least is aware of the challenges he faces as he tries to build a coalition, because he has already devoted 48 hours this week talking to political groups that might support him.

Alone, the central groups lack a majority, and there are splits within the conservative Republicans who have helped prop up the ruling coalition since he lost his majority in recent polls.

So Lecornu will seek left-wing parties for future alliances.

In an attempt to court the left, officials hinted the president was evaluating a pause to portions of his controversial social security adjustments implemented recently which increased the pension age from the early sixties.

The offer was inadequate of what socialist figures hoped for, as they were hoping he would appoint a prime minister from their camp. The Socialist leader of the Socialists commented “since we've not been given any guarantees, we won't give any guarantee” for the premier.

The Communist figure from the Communists commented post-consultation that the progressive camp wanted substantive shifts, and a premier from the moderate faction would not be accepted by the citizens.

Greens leader the Green figure remarked she was surprised Macron had given minimal offers to the progressives, adding that outcomes would be negative.