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The French leader has asked Sébastien Lecornu to return as head of government only four days after he stepped down, triggering a stretch of high drama and crisis.

The president stated late on Friday, shortly after gathering all the main parties together at the Élysée Palace, omitting the leaders of the extremist parties.

His reappointment came as a surprise, as he said on national TV only two days ago that he was not interested in returning and his “mission is over”.

There is uncertainty whether he will be able to assemble a cabinet, but he will have to hit the ground running. Lecornu faces a cut-off on the start of the week to put next year's budget before parliament.

Leadership Hurdles and Economic Pressures

The presidency confirmed the president had assigned him to build a cabinet, and Macron's entourage indicated he had been given “carte blanche” to act.

Lecornu, who is one of a trusted associate, then released a comprehensive announcement on an online platform in which he consented to as an obligation the task given to him by the president, to strive to finalize financial plans by the December and tackle the everyday problems of our compatriots.

Political divisions over how to bring down the country's public debt and reduce the fiscal shortfall have caused the fall of several leaders in the past twelve months, so his challenge is daunting.

France's public debt in the past months was almost 114% of national income – the third largest in the currency union – and this year's budget deficit is projected to amount to 5.4% of the economy.

Lecornu said that “no-one will be able to shirk” the need of restoring France's public finances. With only 18 months before the completion of his mandate, he advised that prospective ministers would have to put on hold their aspirations for higher office.

Leading Without Support

Compounding the challenge for Lecornu is that he will face a parliamentary test in a legislative body where the president has lacks sufficient support to endorse his government. The president's popularity hit a record low recently, according to a survey that put his support level on 14%.

Jordan Bardella of the right-wing group, which was left out of Macron's talks with party leaders on Friday, commented that Lecornu's reappointment, by a president increasingly isolated at the presidential palace, is a poor decision.

His party would immediately bring a vote of no confidence against a doomed coalition, whose main motivation was dreading polls, the leader stated.

Forming Coalitions

Lecornu at least is aware of the challenges in his path as he tries to form a government, because he has already used time recently meeting with factions that might support him.

By themselves, the centrist parties cannot form a government, and there are splits within the conservative Republicans who have assisted Macron's governments since he lost his majority in recent polls.

So he will look to progressive groups for potential support.

In an attempt to court the left, Macron's team indicated the president was thinking of postponing to some aspects of his divisive pension reforms implemented recently which increased the pension age from 62 to 64.

It was insufficient of what socialist figures wanted, as they were expecting he would choose a premier from their camp. The Socialist leader of the leftist party commented without assurances, they would offer no support in a vote of confidence.

Fabien Roussel from the Communists said after meeting the president that the left wanted genuine reform, and a premier from the moderate faction would not be supported by the public.

Greens leader the Green figure expressed shock Macron had offered the left almost nothing to the left, adding that “all of this is going to turn out very badly”.