Crossword Genius

Softens, finding the French trapped in leases (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

relents

'softens' is the definition.
('relent' can be a synonym of 'soften')

'the french trapped in leases' is the wordplay.
'the french' becomes 'le'.
'trapped in' is an insertion indicator.
'leases' becomes 'rents' ('rent' can be a synonym of 'lease').
'le' inserted within 'rents' is 'RELENTS'.

'finding' is the link.

(Other definitions for relents that I've seen before include "is slackening" , "Comes round" , "Shows mercy" , "Eases off" , "Becomes less severe and more lenient" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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