Spotting some of the French in tears (9)

I believe the answer is:

descrying

'spotting' is the definition.
('descry' can be a synonym of 'spot')

'some of the french in tears' is the wordplay.
'some of the french' becomes 'des'.
'in tears' becomes 'crying' (I've seen this before).
'des'+'crying'='DESCRYING'

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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