Cryptic crossword clue
Shows old man to front of ‘mairie’ in French city 10

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word PANTOMIMES

I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
P
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T
O
M
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S

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Shows" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case shows = pantomimes.
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 PANTOMIMES mean?

PANTOMIMES noun
  1. A Classical comic actor, especially one who works mainly through gesture and mime.
  2. The drama in ancient Greece and Rome featuring such performers; or (later) any of various kinds of performance modelled on such work.
  3. A traditional theatrical entertainment, originally based on the commedia dell'arte, but later aimed mostly at children and involving physical comedy, topical jokes, call and response, and fairy-tale plots.
  4. Gesturing without speaking; dumb-show, mime.
PANTOMIMES verb
  1. To make (a gesture) without speaking.
  2. To entertain others by silent gestures or actions.

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