The French, I am sure, have time away from work (7)
I believe the answer is:
leisure
'time away from work' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'the french i am sure' is the wordplay.
'the french' becomes 'le' (**).
'i am' becomes 'i' (I've seen this in other clues).
'le'+'i'+'sure'='LEISURE'
'have' is the link.
(Other definitions for leisure that I've seen before include "Period of relaxation" , "Time when not working" , "Time for relaxation and pleasure" , "Ease; time off work" , "time-off" .)