Former love keeps away here in France by virtue of job (2,7)
I believe the answer is:
ex officio
'by virtue of job' is the definition.
(in an official capacity)
'former love keeps away here in france' is the wordplay.
'former' becomes 'ex' (prefix meaning former or onetime).
'love' becomes 'o' (love means zero in tennis).
'keeps' indicates putting letters inside (inserted letters are kept inside).
'away' becomes 'off' (synonyms).
'here in france' becomes 'ici' ('here' in French).
'ex'+'o'='exo'
'off'+'ici'='offici'
'exo' placed around 'offici' is 'EX-OFFICIO'.
(Other definitions for ex officio that I've seen before include "By right of office" , "By virtue of one's official position, Latin phrase" , "By virtue of one's status" .)