In reaction to the founding of the MDRM, in 1946 the Party for the Disinherited of Madagascar ("Parti des déshérités de Madagascar", PADESM) was formed. It attracted membership from members of coastal communities formerly subjugated by the Merina empire, as well as highland-based descendants of former Merina slaves. Initially a non-nationalist party, PADESM eventually favored a gradual process toward independence that would preserve close ties to France and prevent the reemergence of the precolonial Merina hegemony. The French authorities tacitly supported PADESM, which accused MDRM of launching the uprising to re-establish Merina rule. By aligning itself with PADESM, Socialist-dominated French politicians sought to cast themselves as champions of the oppressed masses against the exploitative Hova elites. Though the uprising indeed remained geographically limited, it enjoyed broad support among several ethnic groups, not just Merina. French security forces were initially taken by surprise and were unable to organize an effective response to contain the uprising. By May 1947, however, the French military had begun to counter the nationalists' attacks. Five North African battalions arrived in Madagascar at the end of July 1947, enabling the French to take the initiative. However, French army strength remained modest with soldiers numbering 18,000 in April 1947. The number of troops increased to about 30,000 in 1948. The French forces now included paratroopers, soldiers of the French Foreign Legion, and tirailleurs (colonial infantry) brought in from the French territories of Comoros and Senegal. The French strategy followed the "oil spot" method of General Joseph Gallieni, the first governor of the island (1896–1905) to root out, demoralize and crush the guerrilla fighters. In addition, the security forces adopted a strategy of terror and psychological warfare involving torture, collective punishment, the burning of villages, mass arrests and executions, and war rape. Many of these practices were later employed by the French military during the Algerian War. The intensity and cruelty of the French response was then unprecedented in the colonial history of France. On 6 May 1947, in Moramanga, soldiers machine-gunned MDRM officials detained in wagons, killing between 124 and 160 mostly unarmed MDRM activists. In Mananjary, hundreds of Malagasy were killed, among them 18 women and a group of prisoners thrown alive out of an airplane. Other massacres of 35 to 50 people occurred in Farafangana, Manakara, and Mahanoro.