Caress, being very affectionate with the French (6)

I believe the answer is:

fondle

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'caress' is the definition.
(fondling is a kind of caressing)

'very affectionate with the french' is the wordplay.
'very affectionate' becomes 'fond' (synonyms. I am not sure about the 'very' bit.).
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'the french' becomes 'le' ('the' in French).
'fond'+'le'='FONDLE'

'being' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for fondle that I've seen before include "Stroke with affection" , "Lovingly caress" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish News.

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