The French, and the rest, backing navy stand (7)
I believe the answer is:
lectern
'stand' is the definition.
(lectern is a kind of stand)
'the french and the rest backing navy' is the wordplay.
'the french' becomes 'le'.
'and the rest' becomes 'etc' (et cetera).
'backing' says the letters should be written in reverse.
'navy' becomes 'rn' (abbreviation for Royal Navy).
'etc' backwards is 'cte'.
'le'+'cte'+'rn'='LECTERN'
(Other definitions for lectern that I've seen before include "Slanted reading desk" , "Support for bible in church" , "Bible stand" , "It supports work" , "Church reading desk" .)