  Magnetic flux ropes play a central role in the physics of Coronal Mass
Ejections (CMEs). Although a flux rope topology is inferred for the majority of
coronagraphic observations of CMEs, a heated debate rages on whether the flux
ropes pre-exist or whether they are formed on-the-fly during the eruption.
Here, we present a detailed analysis of Extreme Ultraviolet observations of the
formation of a flux rope during a confined flare followed about seven hours
later by the ejection of the flux rope and an eruptive flare. The two flares
occurred during 18 and 19 July 2012. The second event unleashed a fast (> 1000
km/s) CME. We present the first direct evidence of a fast CME driven by the
prior formation and destabilization of a coronal magnetic flux rope formed
during the confined flare on 18 July.
