Wires that make the French terribly sad (5)
I believe the answer is:
leads
'wires that' is the definition.
'leads' can be an answer for 'wires' (lead is a kind of wire). I am not sure about the remainder of the definition.
'the french terribly sad' is the wordplay.
'the french' becomes 'le' ('the' in French).
'terribly' indicates anagramming the letters.
'sad' anagrammed gives 'ads'.
'le'+'ads'='LEADS'
'make' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for leads that I've seen before include "Guides; wires" , "What Prime Minister does" , "Clues" , "Takes initiative" , "Guides from the front" .)