The key facts

  • Teddy Riner has announced his candidacy in the 2027 French presidential election
  • He calls himself a candidate of “unity,” outside the right and left, under the slogan “The France we want”
  • The athlete is not ending his career and does not rule out competing at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles

Announcement of candidacy

Five-time Olympic judo champion Teddy Riner has announced his candidacy for president of France in the 2027 election. The 37-year-old athlete posted a video address on social media and spoke about his plans in an interview with the newspaper Le Parisien, as reported by Gazeta.Ru. “Resigning ourselves to our country’s difficulties means already retreating. I refuse to remain a spectator. I am putting my candidacy forward in the 2027 presidential election,” the outlet quoted his statement.

Positioning and plans

Riner said he considers himself neither right-wing nor left-wing and aims to become a candidate of “unity.” He intends to run his campaign under the slogan “The France we want” and, according to Life.ru, has already assembled a team of like-minded people. In the video, published on X, he said: “France does not need a professional politician who lectures and bickers all day long. It needs common sense, kindness, and a state that does everything the way it should.” The athlete acknowledged that he may be seen as “crazy” due to his lack of political experience and “the right connections,” but added: “If refusing to bow to pressure and refusing to accept chaos makes me crazy, then yes, I am completely crazy.”

Sport and politics at the same time

Despite his political ambitions, Riner does not intend to end his athletic career: he has not ruled out competing at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles if his new duties allow him to combine sport and politics. According to euronews, he stipulated that he is counting on the 2028 Olympics “if the public allows” him to do so. Riner is the most decorated judoka in history: three individual Olympic victories (2012, 2016, 2024), two team victories (2020, 2024), and, according to Gazeta.Ru, 12 world championship titles; euronews cites 11 world titles — the outlets’ counts differ on this point.

Election context

The first round of the French presidential election is scheduled for April 18, 2027, and the second for May 2; these will be the 13th election of the Fifth Republic, and incumbent President Emmanuel Macron cannot run again, having already been elected twice. For official registration, Riner will need to secure the support of at least 500 elected officials. According to an IFOP poll for the LCI television channel conducted October 27–29, National Rally leader Marine Le Pen (36%) will likely face La France Insoumise leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon (17.6%) in the second round; the rating of centrist Édouard Philippe, in third place, has fallen to 12%. Life.ru also notes that traditional centrist and moderate right-wing forces are struggling to unite their supporters. There is already a precedent in judo: another French judoka, David Douillet, was elected to parliament in 2009 and served as Minister of Sports from September 2011 to May 2012.