South of France linked to a North African country (5)
I believe the answer is:
sudan
'african country' is the definition.
(country in Africa)
'south of france linked to a north' is the wordplay.
'south of france' becomes 'sud' (French for south).
'linked to' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'north' becomes 'N' (abbreviation).
'sud'+'a'+'n'='SUDAN'
(Other definitions for sudan that I've seen before include "Country in NC Africa, capital Khartoum" , "Country divided by the Nile" , "Sun ad for the African state" , "Recently-split country" , "Country in NE Africa, capital Khartoum" .)