The French put off lull (3-2)
I believe the answer is:
let-up
'lull' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'the french put off' is the wordplay.
'the french' becomes 'le' ('the' in French).
'off' indicates an anagram.
'put' anagrammed gives 'tup'.
'le'+'tup'='LET-UP'
(Other definitions for let-up that I've seen before include "Pause, temporary respite" , "Decline" , "Abatement" , "Pause in intensity" , "Respite, relief" .)