The Union of the Democratic Forces (Union des forces démocratiques, UFD) was an electoral coalition set up in 1958 by many trade unions, political, and associative organizations to unite the non-communist left opposed to the return of General Charles de Gaulle

Charles de Gaulle

Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....

 to power and the French Fifth Republic

French Fifth Republic

The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, introduced on 4 October 1958. The Fifth Republic emerged from the collapse of the French Fourth Republic, replacing the prior parliamentary government with a semi-presidential system...

.

All except two of its candidates were defeated in the 1958 election

French legislative election, 1958

- National Assembly by Parliamentary Group:...

, but its candidate in the indirect 1958 presidential election

French presidential election, 1958

The French presidential election of 1958, the first of the French Fifth Republic, took place on December 21, 1958. This was the only French presidential election by the electoral college .-First round:To win, a candidate...

, Albert Châtelet, obtained 79,416 votes or 8.46%.

Having failed to overcome debates over its ideology and role, the UFD disappeared, with many joining the Unified Socialist Party

Unified Socialist Party (France)

The Unified Socialist Party was a socialist political party in France, founded on April 3, 1960. It was originally led by Édouard Depreux , and by Michel Rocard .- History :...

.