East European, but could be French (6)

I believe the answer is:

polish

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'east european' is the definition.
'polish' can be an answer for 'european' (I've seen this before). I am not certain of the 'east' bit.

I can't explain the rest of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for polish that I've seen before include "Shine with cloth,buff" , "Shine up the nationality" , "Gloss - refinement" , "Rub until shiny" , "Buff up - foreign language" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Independent and The Irish News.

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