French figure that is from New Orleans, say? (5)
I believe the answer is:
dixie
'from new orleans say?' is the definition.
(Dixie refers to the southern states of the US)
'french figure that is' is the wordplay.
'french figure' becomes 'dix' ('ten' in French).
'that is' becomes 'ie' (synonyms).
'dix'+'ie'='DIXIE'
(Other definitions for dixie that I've seen before include "Confederate US states" , "South America's" , "Name given to southern US states" , "American League?" , "Southern states of USA - and a rousing song" .)