New Caledonia was on edge on Tuesday, with fears tensions could spill over into fresh unrest as the territory marked the anniversary of the French takeover – and some independence figures prepared to issue calls for sovereignty.

September 24 is a symbolic day in New Caledonia, long regarded as a day of mourning among the Indigenous Kanak population. This year the anniversary comes after months of deadly unrest and heightened tensions in the French Pacific territory between pro-independence Kanak people and the communities loyal to Paris.

Authorities have stepped up the police presence, tightened curfews, and banned alcohol and gatherings over the four-day holiday period. While relative calm had returned to most of the territory in recent weeks, reports on Thursday that two men had been shot dead during a police operation south of Nouméa rekindled the anger of Kanak youth.

In May, unrest in the territory erupted after news of plans in France for a bill to enlarge the electoral body for local elections. The move angered Kanak people – who make up about 41% of the population – over fears it would weaken their electoral power and undermine longstanding efforts to secure independence. Thirteen people, mostly Kanaks, and including two police officers, have been killed and nearly 3,000 people arrested over the violence.

In Nouméa’s Tuband district, where clashes have been frequent since May, barricades were erected ahead of Tuesday. The neighbourhood was covered in red, white and blue flags. They faced the Kanaky flags of the neighbourhood opposite, a symbol of two groups living next to each other, without ever really mixing.

“We’re not as scared as we were at the start of the riots, but we’re not immune to young people wanting to mark the date,” said Mathieu, a Tuband resident in his 50s.

About 6,000 officers, gendarmes and firefighters were to be deployed across New Caledonia amid fears of fresh clashes.

The loyalists have called on supporters in the capital, Nouméa, to mark the 171st anniversary of the French takeover by honking horns during a radio broadcast of France’s national anthem, La Marseillaise. Separately, the National Council of Chiefs of the Kanak people was to meet on the neighbouring Maré island and was expected to unilaterally announce a declaration of sovereignty.

Still, some in the independence movement downplayed the risk of violence on Tuesday.

“There are rumours, but it won’t be that. It won’t be a declaration of independence for Kanaky,” Marcel Toyon, one of the leaders of CCAT, the group coordinating pro-independence actions on the ground, said in a video posted on his Facebook page this week.

In Maré, Inaat ne Kanaky, the council of great customary chiefs, was to hold a ceremony to “unilaterally declare the sovereignty of the chiefdoms over their customary territories,” the council said.

Roméo Zéoula, a traditional leader from the neighbouring Lifou island, was to be at the ceremony.

“This will be a symbolic gesture, to remind people that the taking of possession 171 years ago was not legitimate, and then we will pass on this work to all the country’s customary authorities,” Zéoula said.

‘We shouldn’t be afraid’

In the Magenta district, which is regularly the scene of clashes between young people and the police, 30-year-old Abraham Neyoukoeo, like many other activists, also emphasised the need for recognition of the Kanak people.

“Our fight goes beyond the political dimension. It’s a question of recognising our identity, as it always has been. Recognition of our identity and recognition that this land has been trodden for thousands of years, since the Lapita [Kanak ancestors] long before the arrival of the white man.”

On Tuesday, he and his friends peacefully flew the Kanaky flag “to mark the occasion”. The young man with long dreadlocks, who stood up to the police in the early days of the riots, sought to reassure people that “the independence we are fighting for is for all Caledonians.”

“We shouldn’t be afraid, but we should get to know each other better,” he said.

Tensions have simmered for decades between Kanak people, who have long sought to break free from France after suffering from strict segregation policies and widespread discrimination.

The recent outbreak comes at a time of political change in France, as new prime minister Michel Barnier formed a government on Saturday. Barnier’s first decision on New Caledonia is likely to be whether to hold or postpone provincial elections scheduled for 15 December.

Despite the concerns about what might unfold on 24 September, in Tuband, Mathieu, who arrived in New Caledonia about 15 years ago, remained optimistic about the territory’s future.

“Our children have grown up here, it’s our home, we’ve invested everything here and we have no intention of leaving, even if we did think about it at the beginning …

“I think we should focus more on what brings us together rather than what separates us,” he said.