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President Emmanuel Macron has called upon Sébastien Lecornu to resume duties as French prime minister a mere four days after he left the post, triggering a period of high drama and crisis.

Macron made the announcement on Friday evening, following gathering leading factions together at the Élysée Palace, excluding the leaders of the extremist parties.

The decision to reinstate him was unexpected, as he said on broadcast recently that he was not interested in returning and his “mission is over”.

It is not even certain whether he will be able to form a government, but he will have to act quickly. The new prime minister faces a deadline on Monday to submit financial plans before the National Assembly.

Leadership Hurdles and Fiscal Demands

Officials said the president had “tasked [Lecornu] with forming a government”, and Macron's entourage suggested he had been given full authority to proceed.

The prime minister, who is one of a trusted associate, then released a comprehensive announcement on an online platform in which he accepted “out of duty” the assignment given to him by the president, to make every effort to finalize financial plans by the end of the year and respond to the common issues of our countrymen.

Political divisions over how to lower France's national debt and reduce the fiscal shortfall have led to the fall of two of the past three prime ministers in the past twelve months, so his mission is immense.

The nation's debt in the past months was almost 114% of national income – the third largest in the euro area – and this year's budget deficit is projected to hit 5.4 percent of economic output.

Lecornu stated that no one can avoid the need of repairing the nation's budget. With only 18 months before the completion of his mandate, he warned that those in the cabinet would have to set aside their aspirations for higher office.

Governing Without a Majority

Adding to the difficulty for Lecornu is that he will face a show of support in a parliament where the president has is short of votes to endorse his government. Macron's approval reached its lowest point this week, according to research that put his support level on 14%.

The far-right leader of the far-right National Rally, which was not invited of consultations with faction heads on the end of the week, remarked that the prime minister's return, by a president out of touch at the Élysée, is a misstep.

The National Rally would promptly introduce a motion of censure against a doomed coalition, whose main motivation was dreading polls, the leader stated.

Forming Coalitions

Lecornu at least is aware of the challenges he faces as he tries to establish a cabinet, because he has already spent two days lately meeting with factions that might support him.

Alone, the central groups are insufficient, and there are disagreements within the right-leaning party who have assisted the ruling coalition since he lacked support in elections last year.

So Lecornu will consider socialist factions for future alliances.

To gain leftist support, Macron's team hinted the president was thinking of postponing to some aspects of his divisive pension reforms implemented recently which raised the retirement age from 62 to 64.

That fell short of what left-wing leaders desired, as they were hoping he would appoint a prime minister from the left. The Socialist leader of the Socialists commented lacking commitments, they would withhold backing for the premier.

The Communist figure from the Communists commented post-consultation that the progressive camp wanted substantive shifts, and a prime minister from the president's centrist camp would not be endorsed by the French people.

Greens leader the Green figure remarked she was surprised Macron had given minimal offers to the left, adding that the situation would deteriorate.