The Congolese Progressive Party (french: Parti progressiste congolais, PPC) was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

Congo-Brazzaville The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

. It was the first Congolese political party (founded by Jean-Félix Tchicaya in 1945), and the Congolese section of the

African Democratic Rally African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

(RDA). Until 1950 PPC was closely connected to the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Un ...

.Bazenguissa-Ganga, Rémy.
Les voies du politique au Congo: essai de sociologie historique
'. Paris: Karthala, 1997. pp. 36, 416 The party was largely based amongst the

Vili people The Vili people are a Central African ethnic group, established in southwestern Gabon, the Republic of Congo, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It's a subgroup of Bantu and Kongo peoples. With the Yombe, the Lumbu, the Vungu, the ...

. Aubert-Lucien Lounda was the General Secretary of the party. Many of the activists of the CGT

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

movement in Congo (which later became an independent trade union centre, CGAT) were members of the PPC. The party had youth and women's sections, but these were not very active. PPC published ''AEF Nouvelle'' between 1947 and 1949. PPC won the 1946 French National Assembly election in Moyen-Congo, obtaining 46% of the votes.Bazenguissa-Ganga, Rémy.
Les voies du politique au Congo: essai de sociologie historique
'. Paris: Karthala, 1997. p. 38 Tchicaya was elected Member of Parliament. In the first Moyen-Congo Representative Council election, held in 1947, PPC got 62,5% of the votes. PPC got 15 seats in the council, whilst French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO) got 9. When the Communist Party was expelled from the French government in May 1947, it had repercussions in the PPC as well. The PPC suffered a series of disagreements as a result. PPC remained the most voted party in the 1951 French National Assembly election, winning 44% of the votes. In the 1952 Moyen-Congo Representative Council election PPC got 34% of the votes. Two future Congolese statesmen,

Fulbert Youlou Abbé Fulbert Youlou (29 June,In ''African Powder Keg: Revolt and Dissent in Six Emergent Nations'', author Ronald Matthews lists Youlou's date of birth as 9 June 1917. This date is also listed in ''Annuaire parlementaire des États d'Afrique noi ...

and

Alphonse Massamba-Débat Alphonse Massamba-Débat (February 11, 1921 – March 25, 1977) was a political figure of the Republic of the Congo who led the country from 1963 until 1968 in a one-party system. Biography Early life He was born in the small village of Nkolo, Bo ...

, were members of the PPC at the time. In 1956 they both left the party, and joined UDDIA. With Youlou's rise to political prominence, the influence of PPC declined. In the 1956 municipal elections in Brazzaville, PPC got 2,478 and three seats (out of 37). In the PPC stronghold of Pointe-Noire, the party mustered to get 8 seats.Kidane Mengisteab, and Cyril K. Daddieh.
State Building and Democratization in Africa: Faith, Hope, and Realities
'. Westport, Conn: Praeger, 1999. p. 163 In March 1957 a PPC-

African Socialist Movement African Socialist Movement (french: Mouvement Socialiste Africain, MSA) was a political party in French West Africa. The MSA was formed following a meeting of the Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière (SFIO) federations of Cameroon, ...

(MSA) alliance was formed. The PPC-MSA bloc obtained a majority, 25 seats (out of whom two seats were held by PPC), in the new Territorial Assembly of Moyen-Congo. A government led by the MSA leader

Jacques Opangault Jacques Opangault (13 December 1907 – 20 August 1978) was a Congolese politician. The founder of the '' Mouvement Socialiste Africain'' (MSA; en, African Socialist Movement), he competed with Félix Tchicaya's ''Parti Progressiste Congolais'' ( ...

was formed. But the alliance between PPC and MSA would not last. In September 1957 the majority fell apart, and UDDIA formed a new government. In the same year, the RDA had broken its links with PPC and sided with UDDIA. After the break with RDA, the PPC aligned itself with the African Regroupment Party (PRA).Thompson, Virginia McLean, and Richard Adloff.
The Emerging States of French Equatorial Africa
'. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press, 1960. p. 488

References

{{reflist Defunct political parties in the Republic of the Congo Political parties established in 1945 Sections of the Rassemblement Démocratique Africain Communism in the Republic of the Congo