The center-left leaders of Germany, Spain and Portugal urged French voters to re-elect President Emmanuel Macron for another five years in Sunday's run-off vote.
Macron is seen as the favorite in the race against his far-right and Eurosceptic rival, Marine Le Pen, who has maintained close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa tried to distinguish between the ideology of Le Pen and Putin.
They said the election in France, a country that helps set the European Union's policy agenda, was critical for the rest of Europe.
"The French are making a choice between a current president who values democracy, sovereignty, freedom and the rule of law, and a nationalist who sided with autocratic leaders like Putin," they wrote in a joint letter to Le Monde.
"The Putin-ordered attack on Ukraine has evoked memories of Europe's darkest days," the statement said.
"This is why the second round of the French presidential election can not be an ordinary election for us. "The choice faced by the French people is critical, for France and for each of us in Europe."
"It is a choice between a Democratic candidate who believes that France's strength will expand through a strong and autonomous EU, and a far-right candidate who openly sided with those who attack our freedom and democracy. values based on the French ideas of the Enlightenment ", according to the leaders.