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President Emmanuel Macron has asked Sébastien Lecornu to come back as French prime minister just days after he stepped down, causing a stretch of high drama and instability.

The president declared late on Friday, following gathering leading factions in one place at the presidential palace, omitting the figures of the far right and far left.

His reappointment came as a surprise, as he said on broadcast only two days ago that he was not interested in returning and his task was complete.

There is uncertainty whether he will be able to assemble a cabinet, but he will have to hit the ground running. The new prime minister faces a time limit on the start of the week to present the annual budget before parliament.

Political Challenges and Budgetary Strains

The Élysée confirmed the president had assigned him to build a cabinet, and those close to the president indicated he had been given full authority to proceed.

The prime minister, who is one of the president's key supporters, then published a long statement on social media in which he agreed to take on as an obligation the task given to him by the president, to make every effort to finalize financial plans by the December and address the daily concerns of our countrymen.

Ideological disagreements over how to reduce government borrowing and reduce the fiscal shortfall have resulted in the ouster of two of the past three prime ministers in the recent period, so his challenge is daunting.

Government liabilities in the past months was nearly 114 percent of national income – the third largest in the currency union – and the annual fiscal gap is projected to hit 5.4 percent of GDP.

Lecornu said that everyone must contribute the need of restoring France's public finances. Given the limited time before the end of Macron's presidency, he cautioned that prospective ministers would have to delay their aspirations for higher office.

Governing Without a Majority

Compounding the challenge for the prime minister is that he will face a vote of confidence in a legislative body where Macron has no majority to endorse his government. The president's popularity reached its lowest point this week, according to research that put his public backing on 14 percent.

Jordan Bardella of the National Rally party, which was left out of the president's discussions with party leaders on Friday, said that the prime minister's return, by a president “more than ever isolated and disconnected” at the official residence, is a “bad joke”.

His party would promptly introduce a motion of censure against a doomed coalition, whose only reason for being was fear of an election, he continued.

Forming Coalitions

The prime minister at least is aware of the challenges in his path as he tries to establish a cabinet, because he has already spent two days this week meeting with political groups that might participate in his administration.

By themselves, the centrist parties lack a majority, 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 left-wing parties for possible backing.

To gain leftist support, the president's advisors hinted the president was considering a delay to some aspects of his divisive social security adjustments implemented recently which raised the retirement age from the early sixties.

That fell short of what socialist figures wanted, as they were expecting he would select a premier from the left. Olivier Faure of the leftist party commented lacking commitments, they would withhold backing for the premier.

The Communist figure from the left-wing party commented post-consultation that the left wanted substantive shifts, and a premier from the central bloc would not be supported by the citizens.

Greens leader the Green figure said she was “stunned” the president had given minimal offers to the progressives, adding that outcomes would be negative.