Military officer in French place, renting (10)
I believe the answer is:
lieutenant
'military officer' is the definition.
(lieutenant is a kind of military officer)
'place renting' is the wordplay.
'place' becomes 'lieu' (as in the phrase 'in lieu of').
'renting' becomes 'tenant' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'lieu'+'tenant'='LIEUTENANT'
'in french' is the link.
This may not be correct. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for lieutenant that I've seen before include "Military rank" , "Army officer" , "Commissioned officer" , "UK rank below captain" , "e.g. one on French side who had a woman?" .)