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President Emmanuel Macron has requested his former prime minister to return as French prime minister just days after he stepped down, triggering a period of high drama and crisis.

Macron stated towards the end of the week, hours after consulting with all the main parties collectively at the presidential palace, excluding the leaders of the political extremes.

The decision to reinstate him came as a surprise, as he declared on national TV recently that he was not “chasing the job” and his task was complete.

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

Leadership Hurdles and Economic Pressures

Officials confirmed the president had given him the duty of creating a administration, and those close to the president indicated he had been given full authority to proceed.

Lecornu, who is one of Macron's closest allies, then issued a detailed message on social media in which he consented to responsibly the assignment given to him by the president, to make every effort to provide France with a budget by the December and address the everyday problems of our fellow citizens.

Political divisions over how to lower France's national debt and reduce the fiscal shortfall have resulted in the fall of several leaders in the last year, so his task is enormous.

France's public debt in the past months was close to 114% of economic output (GDP) – the third highest in the euro area – and current shortfall is expected to reach over five percent of economic output.

The premier said that “no-one will be able to shirk” the imperative of restoring government accounts. With only 18 months before the end of Macron's presidency, he cautioned that those in the cabinet would have to put on hold their aspirations for higher office.

Ruling Amid Division

Adding to the difficulty for the prime minister is that he will face a parliamentary test in a legislative body where the president has no majority to endorse his government. The president's popularity hit a record low in the latest survey, according to an Elabe poll that put his public backing on 14 percent.

The far-right leader of the National Rally party, which was not invited of consultations with political chiefs on Friday, remarked that Lecornu's reappointment, by a president out of touch at the Élysée, is a poor decision.

His party would quickly propose a challenge against a doomed coalition, whose only reason for being was dreading polls, Bardella added.

Building Alliances

Lecornu at least knows the pitfalls in his path as he tries to establish a cabinet, because he has already used time recently meeting with parties that might join his government.

On their own, the centrist parties lack a majority, and there are splits within the conservative Republicans who have supported Macron's governments since he lacked support in elections last year.

So he will look to socialist factions for potential support.

In an attempt to court the left, Macron's team indicated the president was evaluating a pause to portions of his divisive pension reforms implemented recently which raised the retirement age from 62 to 64.

The offer was inadequate of what progressive chiefs desired, as they were anticipating he would appoint a prime minister from their side. Olivier Faure of the Socialists stated “since we've not been given any guarantees, we won't give any guarantee” to back the prime minister.

The Communist figure from the left-wing party said after meeting the president that the left wanted genuine reform, and a premier from the moderate faction would not be accepted by the French people.

Greens leader the Green figure expressed shock the president had offered the left almost nothing to the left, adding that the situation would deteriorate.