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President Emmanuel Macron has requested Sébastien Lecornu to come back as French prime minister just days after he left the post, triggering a week of political upheaval and crisis.

Macron made the announcement towards the end of the week, shortly after gathering leading factions in one place at the official residence, omitting the figures of the far right and far left.

Lecornu's return came as a surprise, as he stated on broadcast just 48 hours prior that he was not interested in returning and his role had concluded.

It is not even certain whether he will be able to form a government, but he will have to act quickly. He faces a time limit on Monday to submit financial plans before the National Assembly.

Political Challenges and Fiscal Demands

The presidency said the president had given him the duty of creating a administration, and his advisors suggested he had been given complete freedom to act.

The prime minister, who is one of a trusted associate, then issued a comprehensive announcement on social media in which he agreed to take on “out of duty” the assignment entrusted to me by the president, to make every effort to finalize financial plans by the end of the year and address the everyday problems of our countrymen.

Ideological disagreements over how to lower France's national debt and balance the books have led to the fall of multiple premiers in the recent period, so his challenge is enormous.

The nation's debt in the past months was nearly 114 percent of national income – the third largest in the eurozone – and the annual fiscal gap is projected to hit 5.4 percent of the economy.

Lecornu said that no one can avoid the necessity of restoring the nation's budget. With only 18 months before the completion of his mandate, he warned that anyone joining his government would have to put on hold their aspirations for higher office.

Ruling Amid Division

Adding to the difficulty for Lecornu is that he will face a parliamentary test in a parliament where Macron has no majority to back him. His public standing reached its lowest point in the latest survey, according to research that put his approval rating on 14%.

Jordan Bardella of the right-wing group, which was left out of consultations with political chiefs on the end of the week, remarked that Lecornu's reappointment, by a president increasingly isolated at the presidential palace, is a misstep.

His party would quickly propose a challenge against a doomed coalition, whose only reason for being was dreading polls, the leader stated.

Forming Coalitions

Lecornu at least knows the pitfalls ahead as he tries to form a government, because he has already devoted 48 hours this week consulting factions that might join his government.

On their own, the central groups lack a majority, and there are disagreements within the traditionalists who have assisted the ruling coalition since he lost his majority in the previous vote.

So Lecornu will seek socialist factions for future alliances.

To gain leftist support, the president's advisors hinted the president was thinking of postponing to portions of his controversial pension reforms enacted last year which increased the pension age from 62 up to 64.

That fell short of what progressive chiefs hoped for, as they were hoping he would appoint a prime minister from the left. The Socialist leader of the leftist party stated without assurances, they would offer no support in a vote of confidence.

Fabien Roussel from the left-wing party commented post-consultation that the progressive camp wanted real change, and a premier from the president's centrist camp would not be endorsed by the French people.

Environmental party head Marine Tondelier expressed shock Macron had offered the left almost nothing to the progressives, adding that “all of this is going to turn out very badly”.