Teddy Riner, the five-time Olympic judo champion and one of France’s most popular athletes, announced on Monday, Nov. 9, that he will run in the 2027 presidential election to succeed Emmanuel Macron. “My name is Teddy Riner and today, I am telling you face to face: I am a candidate in the 2027 presidential election,” the 37-year-old said in a video of 2 minutes and 37 seconds posted on social media, AFP reported.
The Teddy Riner presidential bid enters a race led in the polls by far-right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen, with hard-left France Unbowed leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon in second. Riner told the newspaper Le Parisien he is “neither left nor right-wing” and wants to be a candidate of unity.
5 Olympic golds | 11 world titles | 500 sponsor signatures needed | 36% Le Pen in an IFOP poll, vs. 17.6% Mélenchon
What Riner said
In the video, Riner anticipated the criticism. “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 said. “If refusing to bow my head and refusing chaos makes me crazy, then yes, I’m completely crazy.”
He described a France “collapsing under the weight of debt,” a parent “gritting their teeth while filling a shopping trolley,” and a system where “a young person’s future can be destroyed simply because they don’t have the right network, the right name or the right skin colour,” according to AFP. He also said “state authority has disappeared” in the face of “thugs.” “France does not need a professional politician who recites lessons and quarrels all day long,” he said, as quoted by the Guardian.
Riner, who was born in Guadeloupe and grew up in Paris, said he would fund his campaign with donations and his own money. To qualify for the ballot he must gather 500 sponsorship signatures from elected officials, as French law requires.
The race he is joining
Le Pen led with 36% of voting intentions in an IFOP poll for the broadcaster LCI conducted Oct. 27-29, followed by Mélenchon at 17.6%, Euronews reported. AFP said infighting among centrists has raised the likelihood of a runoff between the two. The election is due in April and May.
By The Boston Report’s reading of those poll figures, Le Pen’s first-round lead over Mélenchon is more than 18 points, roughly double his share. The vote also comes against a backdrop of weeks of protests in France over the cost of living and crowded schools, which the Guardian noted.
About six weeks before his announcement, Riner faced a wave of racist abuse and online harassment after saying on a TV sports show that he felt “anxiety” about the rise of the far right, the Guardian reported. AFP said Riner, who is Black, has publicly said he is very worried about the “rise of the far right.”
Experts call him a long shot
Analysts doubted his chances. “The French take the presidential election very seriously, given how much power the office holds. He has no experience in elected office, no party and no detailed programme yet,” Dani Podgoretskaya of Eurasia Group told AFP. She said a figure who unites the anti-populist vote could still emerge, but “I doubt that Riner is that figure.” Erwan Lestrohan of the polling firm Odoxa said Riner is “starting from zero in terms of political credibility.”
Riner would not be the first judoka in French politics. David Douillet was elected to parliament in 2009 and served as sports minister from 2011 to 2012.
An athlete who still wants to compete
Riner won Olympic heavyweight gold in 2012, 2016 and 2024 and mixed team gold in 2020 and 2024, along with 11 world titles. He told Le Parisien he intends to keep competing and, if elected, would try to take part in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, “if the position allows me to, and if the French people allow me to.” Asked about foreign policy, he joked about a first handshake with President Donald Trump: “We’ll see who has the firmer handshake.”
For the latest on the street mood, see our report on how France’s protests drew 146,000 on a fourth straight weekend. Follow more world news as the 2027 field takes shape.
Sources
- AFP: Judo king Riner joins fight for French presidency
- The Guardian: 'I know what it's like to fight' – France's most popular sportsman says he's running for president
- Euronews: French judo legend and Olympic medallist Teddy Riner announces presidential bid
Read next in World News
.jpg){kind=link}
Most read this week
- Abdul El-Sayed and the Muslim Brotherhood Claims: What’s Confirmed and What Isn’t
- Stock Futures Erase a 2.4% Overnight Drop as Markets Digest Democrats’ Sweep of Congress
- Spain Transport Minister Óscar Puente Quits 26 Days Before Election Over Crash That Killed 69
- Boston Plans to Close 3 Schools in 2028 as Enrollment Drops as Much as 58%
- GM Korea’s Sales Jump 26.6% on Chevrolet Exports as Hyundai Slips 6.3% and Korean Factory Growth Cools
Latest
- Rubio Says Venezuela Will Seat New Supreme Court Justices by Mid-December, Opening a Path to Elections
- Thai Protesters Camp Near Government House, Demanding a 10-Baht Cut in Diesel Prices
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Unveils a Rs70 Billion Security Plan With Faceless Anti-Terror Courts
- Syria and Jordan Sign 11 Agreements and Agree to Jointly Probe Deadly Daraa Strikes
- Guinea’s Gold Mining Crackdown Pushes About 160,000 People Into Mali