The publication of Les Niveaux Seuils in 1975 was followed by heated discussions about the methodologies of teaching French as a foreign language. Towards the end of the 20th century, the Council of Europe produced le Cadre européen commun de référence pour les langues (CECR, 1996, 2001) , which brought the pedagogical issue back under extensive examination, but in new lights of the efficiency demand, the awareness of the absence of reliable systems for evaluation, and the emerging multi-lingual and cross-cultural context. Based on the “competence approach” principle, CECR defines and classifies different goals of teaching French as a foreign language. While it has been promoted as a flexible, accommodating frame of reference for evaluation, CECR is not supposed to impose a uniform standard upon the whole variety of educational contexts and multilingual situations.