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President Emmanuel Macron has requested his former prime minister to come back as the nation's premier just days after he left the post, sparking a week of intense uncertainty and political turmoil.

The president made the announcement towards the end of the week, shortly after consulting with all the main parties in one place at the official residence, except for the figures of the extremist parties.

Lecornu's return shocked many, as he declared on national TV only two days ago that he was not seeking the position and his task was complete.

There is uncertainty whether he will be able to establish a ruling coalition, but he will have to act quickly. Lecornu faces a time limit on Monday to put next year's budget before the National Assembly.

Leadership Hurdles and Budgetary Strains

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

The prime minister, who is one of the president's key supporters, then released a long statement on social media in which he consented to responsibly the task given to him by the president, to do everything to provide France with a budget by the year's conclusion and tackle the common issues of our countrymen.

Political divisions over how to bring down government borrowing and balance the books have resulted in the resignation of multiple premiers in the recent period, so his mission is daunting.

France's public debt recently was almost 114% of economic output (GDP) – the number three in the eurozone – and the annual fiscal gap is estimated to amount to 5.4 percent of GDP.

Lecornu emphasized that everyone must contribute the need of fixing the nation's budget. Given the limited time before the end of Macron's presidency, he warned that those in the cabinet would have to set aside their political goals.

Ruling Amid Division

What makes it even harder for Lecornu is that he will face a vote of confidence in a legislative body where Macron has is short of votes to support him. His public standing plummeted recently, according to an Elabe poll that put his support level on just 14%.

Jordan Bardella of the right-wing group, which was not invited of Macron's talks with political chiefs on the end of the week, said that the decision, by a president “more than ever isolated and disconnected” at the Élysée, is a “bad joke”.

His party would promptly introduce a vote of no confidence against a doomed coalition, whose only reason for being was dreading polls, the leader stated.

Building Alliances

The prime minister at least understands the obstacles he faces as he tries to build a coalition, because he has already devoted 48 hours lately consulting factions that might join his government.

On their own, the central groups cannot form a government, and there are disagreements within the right-leaning party who have supported the administration since he failed to secure enough seats in the previous vote.

So Lecornu will seek progressive groups for potential support.

To gain leftist support, Macron's team hinted the president was considering a delay to portions of his divisive retirement changes enacted last year which extended working life from 62 to 64.

That fell short of what progressive chiefs desired, as they were anticipating he would appoint a leader from their side. Olivier Faure of the leftist party commented without assurances, they would offer no support to back the prime minister.

The Communist figure from the left-wing party commented post-consultation that the progressive camp wanted genuine reform, and a prime minister from the moderate faction would not be accepted by the public.

Environmental party head Marine Tondelier said she was “stunned” the president had offered the left almost nothing to the left, adding that outcomes would be negative.