Retro record by the French star (5)
I believe the answer is:
algol
'star' is the definition.
(Algol is an example)
'retro record by the french' is the wordplay.
'retro' says the letters should be written in reverse (retro is Latin for 'backwards').
'record' becomes 'log' (logging is a kind of recording).
'by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'the french' becomes 'la'.
'log'+'la'='logla'
'logla' written backwards gives 'ALGOL'.
(Other definitions for algol that I've seen before include "language (but not used in speech)" , "Computer language" , "Star" .)