Crossword Genius

Active selfish protester finally ousted by the French (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

nimble

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'active' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)

'selfish protester finally ousted by the french' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'the french' could be 'le' ('the' in French) and 'le' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'nimb' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for nimble that I've seen before include "Agile - alert" , "'Jack be ......, Jack be quick' (6)." , "Quick on the feet" , "Agile, sprightly" , "Swift, active" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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