Party with the French benefit (4)
I believe the answer is:
dole
'benefit' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'party with the french' is the wordplay.
'party' becomes 'do' (do is a kind of party).
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'the french' becomes 'le'.
'do'+'le'='DOLE'
(Other definitions for dole that I've seen before include "State benefit (colloq.)" , "State assistance" , "Informal word for unemployment assistance" , "Kansas senator and 1996 presidential candidate, Bob" , "Unemployment pay" .)