Expected of the French close to Nice (3)
I believe the answer is:
due
'expected' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'of the french close to nice' is the wordplay.
'of the french' becomes 'du' ('of the' in French).
'close to' suggests the final letters (the close of something is the end).
The final letter of 'nice' is 'e'.
'du'+'e'='DUE'
(Other definitions for due that I've seen before include "Proper, appropriate" , "Expected at any moment" , "Owing, unpaid" , "Scheduled to arrive" , "Appropriate - fee - now owing" .)