Europe needs a democratic party. It will probably not have the same name or structure in every country, but democrats across the 27 EU member states and in other democracies on the continent must now stand together, both at national and pan-European level.

Whether through a joint organisation, an electoral alliance or a federation of parties, unity is essential now that Thursday’s elections have secured a triumph for Reform UK, the AfD is leading the race and the National Rally could win the 2027 presidential election.

Should the far right make further gains and come to power in London, Paris or Berlin, it would spell the end of European support for Ukraine, of unity in the face of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, of the establishment of a common defence, of Europe’s assertion on the international stage, and of the new convergence among middle powers that it is gradually organising around itself.

What is at stake is the survival of democracy, of which Europe is the bastion; the definition of the major balances of this century; and the need to avert the all-too-plausible emergence of a Sino-American duopoly.

There is a sense of urgency, but how should we proceed? How can we overcome the differences between these centrist, right-wing and left-wing groups that must be united in a common struggle? How can we give strength, appeal and credibility to this democratic party—inevitably diverse and, today, so unlikely, because the right and left are trying to save themselves instead by reaffirming their identities, locking down ideological borders dating back to the end of absolute monarchies and the birth of the labour movement, shutting themselves away in bygone eras and attempting to breathe life into formations whose intellectual desiccation has contributed so much to the rise of the new far right?

It will certainly not be easy, but necessity demands it.

A new world must be built, and in the face of far-right movements whose only proposals are a flight into mythologised pasts, the rejection of the other and a return to authoritarian regimes, democrats have shared ambitions that they can and must defend together.

The first is the unity of Europe, for times are changing. Once an abstract concept, difficult to grasp and so often a source of anxiety, it is now increasingly seen as the necessity facing Putin’s revanchism, Trump’s imperialism, Xi’s industrial challenges and the chaos on the other shores of the Mediterranean.

Because every European can now see that our economies, our social protections and our international influence are under threat, and thus comes to realise that only our unity will enable us to meet these challenges, the unity of Europe is becoming a political agenda.

We can and must go into the national elections proposing to accelerate the march towards a common defence before we Europeans become prey; to strengthen the ties between the Union and all European democracies; to update our social model in order to ensure its long-term viability; and to secure our energy independence by drawing lessons from the wars in Ukraine and Iran, thereby reducing our reliance on fossil fuels in favour of renewable energy.

On each of these points, common ground is easy to find among all democrats, but that is not all. Whether from the left, the right or elsewhere, everyone must and can also agree on respecting and promoting international law; the proactive co-development of Europe and Africa; the creation of financial instruments specific to Europe; the establishment of industrial giants capable of competing with those of China and the United States; the regulation of the internet; the preservation of credible public broadcasting; and the restriction of the role of money in politics through strict caps on election spending.

Against the far right, the time for cordons sanitaires is over. The time has come for full unity among democrats, and whoever faces the Rassemblement Naitonal in the second round of the French presidential election must be able to embody this unity or face defeat.