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President Emmanuel Macron has requested Sébastien Lecornu to return as the nation's premier a mere four days after he stepped down, causing a stretch of political upheaval and instability.

The president declared towards the end of the week, shortly after gathering all the main parties collectively at the presidential palace, except for the figures of the far right and far left.

The decision to reinstate him was unexpected, as he declared on broadcast only two days ago that he was not seeking the position and his task was complete.

Doubts remain whether he will be able to form a government, but he will have to start immediately. Lecornu faces a time limit on the start of the week to submit financial plans before parliament.

Governing Obstacles and Fiscal Demands

The presidency said the president had “tasked [Lecornu] with forming a government”, and Macron's entourage indicated he had been given complete freedom to proceed.

Lecornu, who is one of a trusted associate, then published a detailed message on social media in which he agreed to take on responsibly the mission entrusted to me by the president, to strive to secure a national budget by the end of the year and tackle the daily concerns of our compatriots.

Ideological disagreements over how to reduce France's national debt and reduce the fiscal shortfall have resulted in the ouster of two of the past three prime ministers in the recent period, so his task is enormous.

The nation's debt earlier this year was nearly 114 percent of economic output (GDP) – the third highest in the eurozone – and the annual fiscal gap is expected to amount to over five percent of the economy.

Lecornu stated that everyone must contribute the imperative of fixing the nation's budget. With only 18 months before the completion of his mandate, he advised that anyone joining his government would have to set aside their presidential ambitions.

Ruling Amid Division

What makes it even harder for the prime minister is that he will face a show of support in a legislative body where the president has is short of votes to back him. Macron's approval reached its lowest point recently, according to research that put his public backing on just 14%.

Jordan Bardella of the National Rally party, which was left out of the president's discussions with political chiefs on Friday, remarked that the prime minister's return, by a president out of touch at the Élysée, is a “bad joke”.

The National Rally would immediately bring a challenge against a struggling administration, whose sole purpose was avoiding a vote, he continued.

Forming Coalitions

Lecornu at least knows the pitfalls ahead as he tries to form a government, because he has already devoted 48 hours this week meeting with political groups that might join his government.

Alone, the moderate factions cannot form a government, and there are disagreements within the traditionalists who have assisted the ruling coalition since he lost his majority in recent polls.

So Lecornu will look to socialist factions for potential support.

To gain leftist support, the president's advisors indicated the president was thinking of postponing to portions of his highly contentious pension reforms implemented recently which extended working life from 62 to 64.

That fell short of what progressive chiefs wanted, as they were hoping he would choose a prime minister from their camp. The Socialist leader of the Socialists stated 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 leader from the moderate faction would not be endorsed by the French people.

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