Preserves the best for the French (7)
I believe the answer is:
pickles
'preserves' is the definition.
(pickling is a kind of preserving)
'best for the french' is the wordplay.
'best' becomes 'pick' (the best possible pick or selection).
'for' says to put letters next to each other.
'the french' becomes 'les' (plural form of 'the' in French).
'pick'+'les'='PICKLES'
'the' is the link.
(Other definitions for pickles that I've seen before include "Preserves in vinegar or brine" , "Vegetables preserved in vinegar or brine" .)