Abandoned action to limit very French uprising (8)
I believe the answer is:
deserted
'abandoned' is the definition.
(I know that abandoned can be written as deserted)
'action to limit very french uprising' is the wordplay.
'action' becomes 'deed' (deed is a kind of action).
'to limit' indicates putting letters inside.
'very french' becomes 'tres' ('very' in French).
'uprising' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'deed' enclosing 'tres' is 'detresed'.
'detresed' in reverse letter order is 'DESERTED'.
(Other definitions for deserted that I've seen before include "uncultivated" , "Defected, renounced" , "fled" , "Left the armed forces without permission" , "Left the armed forces illegally" .)