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The French leader has asked Sébastien Lecornu to return as French prime minister only four days after he left the post, triggering a period of high drama and crisis.

Macron stated on Friday evening, following meeting leading factions in one place at the official residence, omitting the representatives of the extremist parties.

Lecornu's return shocked many, as he declared on national TV recently 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 hit the ground running. Lecornu faces a time limit on Monday to present the annual budget before lawmakers.

Governing Obstacles and Economic Pressures

The presidency said the president had “tasked [Lecornu] with forming a government”, and Macron's entourage implied he had been given “carte blanche” to act.

The prime minister, who is one of a trusted associate, then issued a detailed message on social media in which he consented to responsibly the assignment assigned by the president, to make every effort to secure a national budget by the year's conclusion and tackle the everyday problems of our countrymen.

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

Government liabilities recently was close to 114% of gross domestic product – the third largest in the eurozone – and this year's budget deficit is projected to hit over five percent of GDP.

Lecornu stated that “no-one will be able to shirk” the need of fixing the nation's budget. With only 18 months before the end of Macron's presidency, he cautioned that those in the cabinet would have to delay their presidential ambitions.

Leading Without Support

Compounding the challenge for the prime minister is that he will face a parliamentary test in a National Assembly where the president has is short of votes to back him. His public standing plummeted in the latest survey, according to an Elabe poll that put his support level on just 14%.

The far-right leader of the far-right National Rally, which was excluded of the president's discussions with political chiefs on the end of the week, commented 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 struggling administration, whose main motivation was fear of an election, he continued.

Building Alliances

The prime minister at least is aware of the challenges ahead as he tries to build a coalition, because he has already used time this week talking to political groups that might support him.

Alone, the central groups cannot form a government, and there are disagreements within the traditionalists who have helped prop up Macron's governments since he lacked support in elections last year.

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

To gain leftist support, Macron's team indicated the president was evaluating a pause to some aspects of his controversial retirement changes implemented recently which increased the pension age from 62 up to 64.

That fell short of what socialist figures desired, as they were hoping he would select a premier from the left. The Socialist leader of the Socialists commented lacking commitments, they would withhold backing for the premier.

The Communist figure from the left-wing party commented post-consultation that the progressive camp wanted genuine reform, and a premier from the central bloc would not be endorsed by the citizens.

Environmental party head Marine Tondelier remarked she was surprised Macron had provided few concessions to the progressives, adding that the situation would deteriorate.