PARIS (AP) — A ballooning deficit. A fractious Parliament. Unrest on the streets. The challenges facing Sébastien Lecornu, France’s fourth prime minister in a year, are daunting and defeated his immediate predecessors.

So he’s trying a different tack. To ease tensions, Lecornu has scrapped proposals to axe two public holidays and trimmed lifetime benefits for former government ministers. A loyal ally to unpopular centrist President Emmanuel Macron, he began meeting with opposition leaders and trade unions this week.

But pitfalls lie ahead. Opponents aim to turn up the heat yet further on Thursday with nationwide strikes and protests against budget cuts and other complaints targeting Lecornu’s fragile minority government.

French politics have been in turmoil since Macron called early par

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