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actually, just realised I only 'pencilled' in an answer for 5 dn without thinking about it and now it doesn't really make sense.

I had probably the most popular French port in crosswords - it fits the letters I had, but I can't see why it should be that, now

I took the R in 5d answer to be the leader (king) inside!

I guess so - at least I know I have the same answer now.

I think r = take. See Chambers. (Ring)leader is superfluous.

How do you parse the rest then, Peter?

I thought take = have in 5d ... ringleader[r] inside

Looking at it again, my way doesn't work. Ixion's looks much better. Still can't see how 4ac works.

4ac seems to be a sort of indirect anagram of the theme word, possibly indicated by "criminal"?

...I hope Boatman takes a look at this thread to enjoy the havoc he's wreaking!

As I agree with Ixion, I now see no more problems to solve --- except how to submit the thing! Thank you all for the very fruitful discussion, even if I've had to change nothing! Understanding is all!