[1] New Caledonia's population is constituted of numerous ethnic groups, but most residents are of Kanak, European or mixed origin.

New Caledonians of European descent generally speak French natively, and it is spoken by nearly all the remainder of the population as either a first or second language.

New Caledonian French is characterized by some phonetic particularities and specific grammatical constructions derived from native languages.

[4][2] Tourism constitutes an important part of the collectivity's economy, with visitors principally from Australia and New Zealand.

At the level of legislation and justice, on some occasions individuals may have recourse to a Melanesian language (in spoken conversation, for example).

Notably, the "Loi d’orientation d’Outre-Mer" (law 2000-1207, December 2000) stipulates that respect must be shown to indigenous languages, owing to their importance to New Caledonian culture.

As a French overseas collectivity New Caledonia is almost exclusively under the administrative control of France at the educative level and the textbooks are tailored to European students.

[8] Critics have claimed that this proposal denies reality as French is the predominant native language among New Caledonian students.