Some French agitation produces delay (9)
I believe the answer is:
deferment
'delay' is the definition.
(I know that deferment is a type of delay)
'some french agitation' is the wordplay.
'some french' becomes 'de' ('some' in French).
'agitation' becomes 'ferment' (ferment is a kind of agitation).
'de'+'ferment'='DEFERMENT'
'produces' is the link.
(Other definitions for deferment that I've seen before include "Putting on ice" , "Delay" .)