In France, defeated, surrender (4)
I believe the answer is:
cede
'surrender' is the definition.
(I know that surrender can be written as cede)
'in france defeated' is the wordplay.
'in' says the answer is hidden in the clue.
'CEDE' is hidden in the letters of 'france defeated'.
(Other definitions for cede that I've seen before include "Deliver" , "Reluctantly give up" , "Surrender or relinquish possession" , "Yield, give way" , "Yield or give up to another" .)