A current number, note, recalled old French colony (7)
I believe the answer is:
algeria
'old french colony' is the definition.
(Algeria was once a French colony)
'a current number note recalled' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'a' is present in the answer.
'current' could be 'i' (symbol for electric current) and 'i' is found in the answer.
'number' could be 'l' (L is an example) and 'l' is found within the answer.
'note' could be 'g' (musical note) and 'g' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'era' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
(Other definitions for algeria that I've seen before include "country in Africa" , "North-west African country" , "N. African country" , "North African republic" , "Land" .)