One Frenchman threw paint around drums (7)
I believe the answer is:
timpani
'drums' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'one frenchman threw paint around' is the wordplay.
'one' becomes 'i' (roman numeral).
'frenchman' becomes 'm' (abbreviation for Monsieur - like 'Mr').
'threw' indicates an anagram (I've seen 'throws' mean this).
'around' is an insertion indicator.
'paint' with letters rearranged gives 'tpani'.
'i'+'m'='im'
'im' inserted within 'tpani' is 'TIMPANI'.
(Other definitions for timpani that I've seen before include "Set of kettledrums" , "Mini tap on a large drum" , "part of kitchen?" , "PM, I ain't (anag.)" , "orchestra members" .)