The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word FEUILLETON
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
F
E
U
I
L
L
E
T
O
N
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "contribution to French newspaper" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case contribution to french newspaper = feuilleton.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does FEUILLETON mean?
FEUILLETON noun- A section of a European newspaper typically dedicated to arts, culture, criticism and light literature.
- An article published in this section.