Crossword Genius

European element occupying Parisian street as a set of followers? (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

retinue

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

'a set of followers?' is the definition.
'retinue' can be an answer for 'followers?' (retinue can mean an important person's followers). I am unsure of the 'a set of' bit.

'european element occupying parisian street' is the wordplay.
'european' becomes 'E' (abbreviation e.g. EU).
'element' becomes 'tin' (tin is a kind of element).
'occupying' is an insertion indicator (inserted letters occupy or enter the word).
'parisian street' becomes 'rue' ('street' in French).
'e'+'tin'='etin'
'etin' inserted within 'rue' is 'RETINUE'.

'as' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for retinue that I've seen before include "Cortege" , "Train; attendants" , "Suite of followers" , "Group of servants with important person" , "VIP's attendants" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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