Crossword Genius

The very best from France (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

elite

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'the very best' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'from france' is the wordplay.
'from' becomes 'e' (I've seen this in other clues).
'france' becomes 'lite' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'e'+'lite'='ELITE'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for elite that I've seen before include "Aristocratic" , "Select body, cream" , "Superior group in society" , "Select part" , "Selected as the best" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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