On 1 September 1981, Dacko was overthrown in a bloodless coup carried out by army chief of staff General André Kolingba, who may have had the support of local French security officers who are suspected of having acted without authorization by François Mitterrand's new Socialist government in France. Such allegations may never be substantiated, but Kolingba did subsequently enjoy a very close relationship with France and a presidential security team led by Colonel Mantion. Dacko, unharmed, later returned to politics to lead the Movement for Democracy and Development (MDD), a party opposing Kolingba. Dacko participated in the presidential elections of 1992 and 1993 and in the latter obtained 20.10% of the votes cast.