In the ministry where Emmanuel Macron began his imperious transformation of France ’s economy and politics, Eric Lombard is quietly refashioning the president’s project into a humbler, more careful enterprise.

The soft-spoken 67-year-old, who took over the finance and economy department at the end of last year, is deploying tactics built on compromise rather than ideology, honed over decades advising on deals at BNP Paribas SA and guiding governments through past crises.