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The French leader has asked Sébastien Lecornu to resume duties as head of government a mere four days after he resigned, causing a stretch of intense uncertainty and crisis.

The president made the announcement on Friday evening, shortly after gathering leading factions together at the official residence, omitting the figures of the far right and far left.

The decision to reinstate him was unexpected, as he declared on television only two days ago that he was not seeking the position and his task was complete.

It is not even certain whether he will be able to establish a ruling coalition, but he will have to hit the ground running. The new prime minister faces a deadline on the start of the week to present the annual budget before lawmakers.

Governing Obstacles and Fiscal Demands

Officials announced the president had assigned him to build a cabinet, and his advisors implied he had been given full authority to proceed.

The prime minister, who is one of Macron's closest allies, then released a comprehensive announcement on social media in which he consented to “out of duty” the mission given to him by the president, to make every effort to finalize financial plans by the end of the year and address the common issues of our countrymen.

Ideological disagreements over how to bring down the country's public debt and balance the books have led to the fall of several leaders in the past twelve months, so his task is enormous.

France's public debt in the past months was almost 114% of national income – the third highest in the eurozone – and this year's budget deficit is projected to reach 5.4 percent of GDP.

Lecornu emphasized that “no-one will be able to shirk” the necessity of restoring government accounts. In just a year and a half before the completion of his mandate, he cautioned that prospective ministers would have to put on hold their political goals.

Ruling Amid Division

Adding to the difficulty for Lecornu is that he will face a parliamentary test in a legislative body where Macron has no majority to endorse his government. Macron's approval plummeted this week, according to a survey that put his public backing on 14%.

The far-right leader of the right-wing group, which was left out of Macron's talks with party leaders on the end of the week, said that Lecornu's reappointment, by a president increasingly isolated at the Élysée, is a poor decision.

The National Rally would quickly propose a motion of censure against a doomed coalition, whose only reason for being was avoiding a vote, the leader stated.

Forming Coalitions

The prime minister at least knows the pitfalls in his path as he tries to build a coalition, because he has already used time lately consulting factions that might join his government.

On their own, the central groups cannot form a government, and there are divisions within the conservative Republicans who have helped prop up the administration since he lost his majority in the previous vote.

So Lecornu will look to socialist factions for potential support.

As a gesture to progressives, the president's advisors hinted the president was thinking of postponing to portions of his controversial pension reforms implemented recently which raised the retirement age from 62 up to 64.

It was insufficient of what progressive chiefs wanted, as they were expecting he would appoint a prime minister from the left. Olivier Faure of the Socialists commented lacking commitments, they would withhold backing in a vote of confidence.

The Communist figure from the Communists commented post-consultation that the left wanted genuine reform, and a leader from the moderate faction would not be accepted by the French people.

Greens leader Marine Tondelier expressed shock the president had provided few concessions to the left, adding that outcomes would be negative.