In 1997, three members of Zebda formed a group called "Tactikollectif," which was involved in fund-raising and advocacy for immigrant groups in the "banlieues". In the 2001 municipal elections, Zebda sponsored and spearheaded a list of independent candidates, "Les Motivé-e-s" ("The Motivated Ones"), who ran for office on the platform that the current local government was not representative of all demographic groups in the city; "Les Motivé-e-s" was also dedicated to encouraging local youth and immigrants to vote and become more involved in local political issues. The group of candidates, two of whom were Zebda band members, won 12.38% of the vote in the first-round elections, and advanced to the second round, where they were narrowly defeated.""Le mouvement « Motivé(e)s », dans lequel sont engagés, de près ou de loin, tous les membres de Zebda, rafle 12,38% des suffrages au premier tour des municipales à Toulouse.""English: "The Motivé(e)s movement, in which all the members of Zebda were engaged from near or from far, won 12.38% of the votes in the first round of the municipal elections in Toulouse."</ref>