Father takes the French request (4)
I believe the answer is:
plea
'request' is the definition.
(plea is a kind of request)
'father takes the french' is the wordplay.
'father' becomes 'pa' (pa is a kind of father).
'takes' indicates putting letters inside.
'the french' becomes 'le'.
'pa' enclosing 'le' is 'PLEA'.
(Other definitions for plea that I've seen before include "Excuse - pretext" , "Answer made by the accused to the charge" , "Defendant's answer to a charge or claim" , "response to criminal charges" , "(and 14) Enjoyment - gratification" .)