The French half murder Madagascan native (5)
I believe the answer is:
lemur
'madagascan native' is the definition.
(animal native to Madagascar)
'the french half murder' is the wordplay.
'the french' becomes 'le' ('the' in French).
'half' indicates taking half.
'murder' with half the letters taken is 'mur'.
'le'+'mur'='LEMUR'
(Other definitions for lemur that I've seen before include "Malagasy primate" , "Monkey-like creature of Madagascar" , "Social climber" , "Monkey-like aniaml of Madagascar" , "Large-eyed animal with foxy face and furry tail" .)