New Caledonia has introduced so-called customary public officers whose task is to replace French police in a range of traditional affairs.
Reports say this relates to them assuming roles akin to those of justices of the peace.
The group was commissioned in Noumea and is now undergoing basic training.
One of the trainers involved in the preparation process, Philippe Martin, from the French Training Institute in Public Administration, says this marks the first time in legal history that European-style written law and local custom had been brought together to interact.
