Require the French pointed instrument (6)

I believe the answer is:

needle

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'pointed instrument' is the definition.
'needle' can be an answer for 'instrument' (thesaurus). I am unsure of the 'pointed' bit.

'require the french' is the wordplay.
'require' becomes 'need' (synonyms).
'the french' becomes 'le' ('the' in French).
'need'+'le'='NEEDLE'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for needle that I've seen before include "Slender pointer" , "Persistently annoy" , "peak" , "narrow-eyed one" , "counter" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish News.

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