President Emmanuel Macron Renominates Sébastien Lecornu as France's Prime Minister In the Wake of A Period of Unrest

President Emmanuel Macron has called upon Sébastien Lecornu to come back as head of government only four days after he left the post, causing a stretch of high drama and political turmoil.

The president declared late on Friday, hours after meeting key political groups together at the presidential palace, except for the leaders of the extremist parties.

Lecornu's return shocked many, as he stated on national TV just 48 hours prior that he was not interested in returning and his “mission is over”.

Doubts remain whether he will be able to assemble a cabinet, but he will have to hit the ground running. Lecornu faces a time limit on Monday to present the annual budget before parliament.

Leadership Hurdles and Budgetary Strains

Officials said the president had “tasked [Lecornu] with forming a government”, and those close to the president implied he had been given full authority to make decisions.

Lecornu, who is one of Macron's closest allies, then issued a detailed message on an online platform in which he agreed to take on responsibly the task given to him by the president, to make every effort to finalize financial plans by the end of the year and tackle the daily concerns of our countrymen.

Ideological disagreements over how to bring down government borrowing and balance the books have resulted in the fall of two of the past three prime ministers in the last year, so his challenge is immense.

France's public debt earlier this year was nearly 114 percent of national income – the number three in the euro area – and current shortfall is expected to amount to 5.4 percent of economic output.

Lecornu emphasized that “no-one will be able to shirk” the need of repairing government accounts. With only 18 months before the end of Macron's presidency, he cautioned that anyone joining his government would have to put on hold their political goals.

Ruling Amid Division

What makes it even harder for the prime minister is that he will face a parliamentary test in a National Assembly where the president has lacks sufficient support to endorse his government. Macron's approval reached its lowest point this week, according to a survey that put his support level on just 14%.

The far-right leader of the National Rally party, which was excluded of consultations with party leaders on Friday, said that the prime minister's return, by a president increasingly isolated at the presidential palace, is a “bad joke”.

They would quickly propose a motion of censure against a struggling administration, whose sole purpose was fear of an election, he continued.

Building Alliances

Lecornu at least is aware of the challenges ahead as he tries to form a government, because he has already used time lately meeting with political groups that might support him.

By themselves, the centrist parties lack a majority, and there are splits within the right-leaning party who have assisted the ruling coalition since he failed to secure enough seats in the previous vote.

So Lecornu will consider progressive groups for possible backing.

In an attempt to court the left, the president's advisors suggested the president was considering a delay to part of his controversial pension reforms enacted last year which increased the pension age from 62 up to 64.

It was insufficient of what socialist figures desired, as they were expecting he would appoint a premier from their camp. Olivier Faure of the Socialists commented without assurances, they would offer no support for the premier.

The Communist figure from the left-wing party commented post-consultation that the progressive camp wanted substantive shifts, and a leader from the central bloc would not be accepted by the public.

Greens leader Marine Tondelier expressed shock Macron had given minimal offers to the progressives, adding that “all of this is going to turn out very badly”.