Raise expectations initially - then the French tax energy! (7)
I believe the answer is:
elevate
'raise' is the definition.
('elevate' can be a synonym of 'raise')
'expectations initially then the french tax energy' is the wordplay.
'initially' says to take the initial letters.
'then' says to put letters next to each other.
'the french' becomes 'le' (**).
'tax' becomes 'vat' (British sales tax).
'energy' becomes 'e' (physics symbol as in E=mce).
The initial letter of 'expectations' is 'e'.
'e'+'le'+'vat'+'e'='ELEVATE'
(Other definitions for elevate that I've seen before include "Put on a pedestal" , "'Raise, upgrade (7)'" , "Raise high or promote" , "To raise in level" , "Lift up or ennoble" .)