Following the Algerian War of Independence, Thiriart decided to look to a more Europe-wide vision and founded Jeune Europe as a result, calling for a united Europe that would be "neither Moscow nor Washington" but rather a third superpower in order that the individual states could stop being squeezed in the Cold War.

[1] Jeune Europe quickly grew in influence, with major branches opening in France, Italy and Spain, as well as minor groups in nine other countries.

[1] Its strongest following was amongst students although it attracted wider attention in part due to the strength of Thiriart's personality and his unusually syncretist message.

[4][5] Although Thiriart publicly disavowed fascism and branded Nazism obsolete, the movement was still accused of having a fascist basis, be it through adopting the Celtic cross, a symbol widely used in neo-fascism, as its emblem or advertising the activities of neo-Nazi leader Hans-Ulrich Rudel in its eponymous weekly magazine.

[7] However, Thiriart's flirtation with China and the Soviet Union alienated some rank and file members for whom links with fascism were not to be eschewed and when he began to follow a more national communist path and seek contact with Nicolae Ceauşescu membership fell.