Refugee from former French island (5)
I believe the answer is:
exile
'refugee' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'former french island' is the wordplay.
'former' becomes 'ex' (prefix meaning former or onetime).
'french island' becomes 'ile' ('island' in French).
'ex'+'ile'='EXILE'
'from' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for exile that I've seen before include "Outcast" , "Ousted person" , "Person expelled from home country" , "officially banish" , "Person banished from the home country" .)