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The French leader has requested Sébastien Lecornu to resume duties as head of government just days after he resigned, causing a stretch of high drama and instability.

The president declared on Friday evening, following meeting leading factions in one place at the official residence, except for the representatives of the political extremes.

Lecornu's return shocked many, as he said on television just 48 hours prior that he was not interested in returning and his role had concluded.

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

Leadership Hurdles and Economic Pressures

The Élysée confirmed the president had “tasked [Lecornu] with forming a government”, and those close to the president implied he had been given full authority to proceed.

The prime minister, who is one of a trusted associate, then released a detailed message on social media in which he accepted “out of duty” the task entrusted to me by the president, to make every effort to finalize financial plans by the year's conclusion and address the everyday problems of our compatriots.

Partisan conflicts over how to bring down the country's public debt and reduce the fiscal shortfall have resulted in the fall of two of the past three prime ministers in the last year, so his mission is daunting.

France's public debt in the past months was nearly 114 percent of economic output (GDP) – the third largest in the currency union – and this year's budget deficit is expected to amount to 5.4 percent of GDP.

The premier emphasized that “no-one will be able to shirk” the imperative of restoring government accounts. In just a year and a half before the completion of his mandate, he advised that those in the cabinet would have to delay their presidential ambitions.

Ruling Amid Division

Adding to the difficulty 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 endorse his government. The president's popularity reached its lowest point recently, according to an Elabe poll that put his approval rating on just 14%.

The far-right leader of the far-right National Rally, which was left out of Macron's talks with political chiefs on Friday, remarked that the decision, by a president out of touch at the official residence, is a misstep.

His party would immediately bring a challenge against a doomed coalition, whose main motivation was avoiding a vote, he continued.

Building Alliances

The prime minister at least knows the pitfalls ahead as he tries to form a government, because he has already devoted 48 hours lately meeting with factions that might participate in his administration.

By themselves, the moderate factions are insufficient, and there are divisions within the traditionalists who have assisted Macron's governments since he lacked support in elections last year.

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

To gain leftist support, officials hinted the president was thinking of postponing to part of his divisive pension reforms enacted last year which raised the retirement age from 62 to 64.

The offer was inadequate of what socialist figures wanted, as they were hoping he would select a leader from the left. The Socialist leader of the Socialists commented without assurances, they would offer no support for the premier.

The Communist figure from the Communists stated following discussions that the left wanted real change, and a prime minister from the moderate faction would not be accepted by the public.

Greens leader Marine Tondelier expressed shock Macron had given minimal offers to the left, adding that “all of this is going to turn out very badly”.