Thanks to the French, we have fiction (5)

I believe the answer is:

tales

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'we have fiction' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.

'thanks to the french' is the wordplay.
'thanks' becomes 'ta' (UK informal version of 'thank you').
'to the french' becomes 'les' (plural form of 'the' in French).
'ta'+'les'='TALES'

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(Other definitions for tales that I've seen before include "Lies" , "accounts" , "Stories, yarns" , "They might be tall" , "reports" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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