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The French leader has called upon Sébastien Lecornu to come back as head of government just days after he left the post, sparking a week of high drama and political turmoil.

Macron declared late on Friday, hours after consulting with key political groups in one place at the official residence, omitting the figures of the political extremes.

Lecornu's return came as a surprise, as he stated on television only two days ago that he was not seeking the position and his role had concluded.

It is not even certain whether he will be able to form a government, but he will have to start immediately. Lecornu faces a cut-off on the start of the week to put next year's budget before parliament.

Leadership Hurdles and Budgetary Strains

Officials confirmed the president had “tasked [Lecornu] with forming a government”, and Macron's entourage implied he had been given complete freedom to act.

The prime minister, who is one of a trusted associate, then issued a detailed message on X in which he agreed to take on “out of duty” the assignment assigned by the president, to do everything to secure a national budget by the December and tackle the daily concerns of our compatriots.

Partisan conflicts over how to bring down France's national debt and reduce the fiscal shortfall have led to the resignation of several leaders in the past twelve months, so his challenge is enormous.

Government liabilities earlier this year was close to 114% of economic output (GDP) – the third highest in the eurozone – and current shortfall is estimated to hit 5.4% of GDP.

The premier said that everyone must contribute the imperative of repairing France's public finances. With only 18 months before the end of Macron's presidency, he warned that those in the cabinet would have to put on hold their political goals.

Governing Without a Majority

Compounding the challenge for the prime minister is that he will face a parliamentary test in a legislative body where the president has lacks sufficient support to back him. The president's popularity plummeted in the latest survey, according to research that put his support level on just 14%.

The far-right leader of the National Rally party, which was left out of consultations with party leaders on the end of the week, remarked that the prime minister's return, by a president out of touch at the official residence, is a poor decision.

His party would immediately bring a vote of no confidence against a doomed coalition, whose only reason for being was avoiding a vote, the leader stated.

Building Alliances

Lecornu at least understands the obstacles in his path as he tries to build a coalition, because he has already spent two days recently consulting political groups that might support him.

By themselves, the centrist parties are insufficient, and there are disagreements within the right-leaning party who have helped prop up the ruling coalition since he failed to secure enough seats in recent polls.

So he will consider left-wing parties for potential support.

As a gesture to progressives, officials hinted the president was thinking of postponing to portions of his controversial pension reforms passed in 2023 which increased the pension age from 62 to 64.

It was insufficient of what socialist figures desired, as they were anticipating he would select a leader from their camp. The Socialist leader of the leftist party stated lacking commitments, they would withhold backing for the premier.

The Communist figure from the Communists commented post-consultation that the left wanted substantive shifts, and a prime minister from the central bloc would not be endorsed by the French people.

Greens leader the Green figure expressed shock the president had given minimal offers to the progressives, adding that outcomes would be negative.