Clue: Gossip provoking giggle about the state of France, bootless at heart (13)
Answer: TITTLE-TATTLER
Explanation: Definition: Gossip
L'ETAT + [boo]TL[ess] in TITTER. Houston, we have a problem[1]: the first L of this clashes with the final E of 21d, TRANSE. I can only guess that Azed accidentally entered either TITTEL- or TITTER- as the first part of this word in his grid, and it escaped subsequent checking. (Incidentally, tittle-tattler was used in a clue in Azed 2091.)