On 17 May 1956, Fulbert Youlou founded the Union démocratique de défense des intérêts africains (UDDIA), as a competitor to the Congolese Progressive Party (Parti progressiste congolais, PPC) of Tchicaya and of the section of the SFIO transformed in January 1957 into the African Socialist Movement (Mouvement socialiste africain, MSA) directed by Opangault.
The symbol of the new party was the crocodile, a ferocious and powerful animal linked to sorcery and crime.
An anti-communist party of Liberal Christian persuasion, it contained 46 politicians, 11 of which came from the PPC and 5 from the SFIO.
His political base, hitherto limited to the three regions of Pool, Niari and Bouenza, expanded to include Kouliou, with the assistance of the PPC secretary general, Stéphane Tchitchéllé.

In November 1956, Youlou filed papers declaring his candidacy for the election of the mayor of Brazzaville.
However, these papers were in fact supposed to be filed in Pointe-Noire.
French colonial officials, aware of Barthélemy Boganda's similar dramatic rise to power in Ubangi-Shari, did not want to take the risk of letting Youlou's request lapse, which could have caused unrest amongst the public, so they informed him of his error.
They believed that they could utilize Youlou's influence among the Lari people to their benefit.
The municipal elections took place on 18 November 1956 for a single combined European and African council and the UDDIA experienced clear success, taking Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire and Dolisie.
Youlou defeated Jacques Opangault who contested the results, and was elected mayor of Brazzaville, the first black elected mayor in French Equatorial Africa, with 23 seats compared to SFIO's 11 and PPC's 3.

Support for Tchicaya's PPC collapsed almost entirely, leaving Opangault and Youlou as the main political contenders in the 31 March 1957 Moyen-Congo Territorial Assembly elections, held to elect a local government, in accordance with the Loi Cadre Defferre which had entered into force in 1956.
Despite their earlier successes, the UDDIA's Vice-President Simon Kikounga N'Got quit the movement and founded his own party, the Groupement pour le progrès économique et social du Moyen-Congo (GPES) Simon Kikounga N'Got took the electorate of Niari with him and won over the PPC-MSA coalition.
Thus, on 31 March 1957, the UDDIA came second with 25 seats, while the coalition led by Opangault won 42 seats.
Following negotiations, a coalition government was eventually formed by the MSA and UDDIA, with five ministerial portfolios assigned to each party.
Opangault received the Vice-Presidency – French colonial governors remained as Presidents until 14 July 1958 when these positions were taken by the elected African Vice-Presidents.
Abbé took the ministry of agriculture, intending to take advantage of the numerous tours of the country which the position would require.
On 17 May 1956, Fulbert Youlou founded the Union démocratique de défense des intérêts africains (UDDIA), as a competitor to the Congolese Progressive Party (Parti progressiste congolais, PPC) of Tchicaya and of the section of the SFIO transformed in January 1957 into the African Socialist Movement (Mouvement socialiste africain, MSA) directed by Opangault. The symbol of the new party was the crocodile, a ferocious and powerful animal linked to sorcery and crime. An anti-communist party of Liberal Christian persuasion, it contained 46 politicians, 11 of which came from the PPC and 5 from the SFIO. His political base, hitherto limited to the three regions of Pool, Niari and Bouenza, expanded to include Kouliou, with the assistance of the PPC secretary general, Stéphane Tchitchéllé.
In November 1956, Youlou filed papers declaring his candidacy for the election of the mayor of Brazzaville. However, these papers were in fact supposed to be filed in Pointe-Noire. French colonial officials, aware of Barthélemy Boganda's similar dramatic rise to power in Ubangi-Shari, did not want to take the risk of letting Youlou's request lapse, which could have caused unrest amongst the public, so they informed him of his error. They believed that they could utilize Youlou's influence among the Lari people to their benefit. The municipal elections took place on 18 November 1956 for a single combined European and African council and the UDDIA experienced clear success, taking Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire and Dolisie. Youlou defeated Jacques Opangault who contested the results, and was elected mayor of Brazzaville, the first black elected mayor in French Equatorial Africa, with 23 seats compared to SFIO's 11 and PPC's 3.
Support for Tchicaya's PPC collapsed almost entirely, leaving Opangault and Youlou as the main political contenders in the 31 March 1957 Moyen-Congo Territorial Assembly elections, held to elect a local government, in accordance with the Loi Cadre Defferre which had entered into force in 1956. Despite their earlier successes, the UDDIA's Vice-President Simon Kikounga N'Got quit the movement and founded his own party, the Groupement pour le progrès économique et social du Moyen-Congo (GPES) Simon Kikounga N'Got took the electorate of Niari with him and won over the PPC-MSA coalition. Thus, on 31 March 1957, the UDDIA came second with 25 seats, while the coalition led by Opangault won 42 seats. Following negotiations, a coalition government was eventually formed by the MSA and UDDIA, with five ministerial portfolios assigned to each party. Opangault received the Vice-Presidency – French colonial governors remained as Presidents until 14 July 1958 when these positions were taken by the elected African Vice-Presidents. Abbé took the ministry of agriculture, intending to take advantage of the numerous tours of the country which the position would require.
Fulbert Youlou