Caught the French politician in vice (5)
I believe the answer is:
clamp
'vice' is the definition.
(I've seen this in other clues)
'caught the french politician' is the wordplay.
'caught' becomes 'c' (cricket abbreviation).
'the french' becomes 'la' ('the' in French).
'politician' becomes 'MP' (Member of Parliament).
'c'+'la'+'mp'='CLAMP'
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for clamp that I've seen before include "Fix firmly" , "Secure - store for potatoes" , "Brace for holding something in place" , "that stops one from driving?" , "Big, important" .)