Want the French to cultivate tapestries? (10)
I believe the answer is:
needlework
'tapestries?' is the definition.
'want the french to cultivate' is the wordplay.
'want' becomes 'need' ('need' can be a synonym of 'want').
'the french' becomes 'le'.
'to cultivate' becomes 'work' ('work' can be a synonym of 'cultivate').
'need'+'le'+'work'='NEEDLEWORK'
(Other definitions for needlework that I've seen before include "putting in stitches" , "crafty stuff" , "craft" , "sewers do that" , "Stitching" .)