The party was established by Darboux in 1956 in the Djougou region in order to compete against Hubert Maga and the Dahomeyan Democratic Movement (MDD).[1] It was originally known as Defense of Economic Interests (Défense des Intérèts Économiques, DIE). It contested the 1956 elections to the French National Assembly, but received only 1.7% of the vote.[2]