Five‑time Olympic judo champion Teddy Riner announced on Monday his candidacy in France’s 2027 presidential election, emphasizing the need for “common sense, firmness, justice, and a state that restores order.”
The 37‑year‑old athlete unveiled his candidacy in a video posted on X/Twitter, positioning himself as an outsider to conventional politics and advocating for stronger national unity.
“My name is Teddy Riner, and today I am telling you this while looking you straight in the eye. I am running for president in the 2027 election,” he declared.
Riner acknowledged that his lack of political experience would likely provoke criticism, anticipating that opponents would label him “crazy,” an outsider unfamiliar with governmental processes.
“Is it crazy to find it unbearable that a parent must grit their teeth while filling their shopping cart, or fear for their child’s safety on the streets because we have surrendered them to thugs and the authority of the state has vanished?” he asked.
“If refusing to bow my head and refusing to accept chaos makes me crazy, then yes, I am completely crazy,” he stated.
Riner promises to bring practical leadership, not polished politics
The judoka said he would apply the determination forged through his sporting career to politics, contending that France needs practical leadership over career politicians.
“I have never spent my life behind a lectern. Fighting has always been part of who I am. I know what it means to fight, to fall, and to get back up, every single time,” Riner said.
“France does not need a professional politician who recites rehearsed lessons and spends all day arguing. It needs common sense, firmness, justice, and a state that restores order,” he added.
Riner has described himself as neither left‑wing nor right‑wing and said he wants to become a president who can unite the French people, Le Monde reported. In an interview with Le Parisien, he said he is running to show that France can be restored and that he aims to be a unifying figure.
Riner has stated he does not plan to give up his sporting career and hopes to compete at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, should the duties of the presidency and public support permit it, according to Le Monde.
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