Frenchman set up rule, making fresh start (7)
I believe the answer is:
renewal
'fresh start' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'frenchman set up rule' is the wordplay.
'frenchman' becomes 'rene'.
'set up' says the letters should be written in reverse.
'rule' becomes 'law' (law is a kind of rule).
'law' back-to-front is 'wal'.
'rene'+'wal'='RENEWAL'
'making' is the link.
(Other definitions for renewal that I've seen before include "Resumption, re-establishment" , "Resurrection" , "fresh start" , "Continuance" , "Fresh beginning" .)