Cunning of the French going to the West Indies (5)
I believe the answer is:
wiles
'cunning' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'the french going to the west indies' is the wordplay.
'the french' becomes 'les' (plural form of 'the' in French).
'going to' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'the west indies' becomes 'wi'.
'les' put after 'wi' is 'WILES'.
'of' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for wiles that I've seen before include "Pieces of trickery, to deceive or attract" , "Deceitful ploys" , "Enticing stratagems" , "Pieces of trickery designed to attract" , "Tricks designed to attract, often feminine" .)