Teddy Riner has announced plans to contest next year’s French presidential election
The five-times Olympic gold medallist says he is neither leftwing nor rightwing
Riner says he wants to bring people together amid deep divisions in France
Teddy Riner, France’s five-times Olympic judo champion, has said he will run in next year’s presidential election. He described himself as neither leftwing nor rightwing and said he wants to “bring people together”.
With more than five months before the April-May ballot to replace Emmanuel Macron, the race has been shaping up to be a showdown between political extremes. Polls point to a hollowing out of the political centre, suggesting that the anti-immigrant National Rally leader Marine Le Pen could be the frontrunner, with the radical-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon trailing behind.
Riner joins a crowded field and analysts have described him as a long shot because he has no political experience and no party backing. On Monday, he tried to frame that outsider status as an advantage and promised to bring “common sense, steadfastness, justice” to France.
Riner's Campaign Pitch
Riner leaned into the doubts around his candidacy. In a video posted on social media on Monday, he said: “I know what people are going to say about me: ‘He’s crazy. He’s not from the establishment. He doesn’t have the codes. He’s never done politics,’”
He then set out the issues he says are driving his run. Riner pointed to soaring debt, the rising cost of groceries and the fragile prospects facing people who do not have the right network, family name or skin colour. “If refusing to bow my head and refusing the chaos makes me crazy, then yes, I’m completely crazy,” he said.
Emmanuel Macron embraces Teddy Riner in front of a crowd. Macron is much shorter than Riner and is reaching upward. Rinder wears a deep blue judo jacket.
Riner also pointed to his life in judo. Born in Guadeloupe and raised in Paris, the 37-year-old said years spent throwing and pinning opponents shaped his bid for the presidency. “Fighting has always been part of me. I know what it’s like to fight, fall and always get up,” he said. “France does not need a professional politician who recites lessons and quarrels all day long.”
In an interview with Le Parisien published on Monday, Riner again described himself as neither rightwing nor leftwing. He presented himself as an outsider who could unify the country rather than deepen political camps.
Pressure And Backlash
The announcement comes amid sharp political and social strain. About six weeks ago, Riner faced a wave of racist abuse and online harassment after he said on a TV sports show that he felt “anxiety” about the rise of the far right in France.
France has also been rocked by protests over the cost of living. Those tensions have added to ongoing protests by schoolchildren over crumbling and crowded classrooms.
Riner has often been voted France’s most popular sportsperson. He is now preparing to seek 500 sponsorship signatures from elected officials, which French law requires for a presidential bid. He said part of his motivation came from young and old people struggling to imagine a future for themselves.
He tied that argument to the wider state of the race. “The country is experiencing deep divisions right now, let’s not kid ourselves,” he said. “And in the face of that, I don’t see a single candidate putting forward a credible and fair vision capable of bringing French people together rather than dividing them. There is no one today offering genuine, sincere hope. It’s always one side against another.”
