Five months before France chooses a successor to Emmanuel Macron, its political middle finds itself unmoored, searching the horizon for someone untainted by the recent past. An Olympic judo champion, Teddy Riner, has stepped forward with a message of unity that few expect to carry him to power, yet his entry reveals a deeper restlessness. Behind the spectacle lies a familiar pattern: when a nation's anger grows louder, its moderates often go looking for a figure who seems to stand above the fray, and the search itself becomes a sign of how far the center has fallen.
France's Centrists Search for a Savior as Far-Right and Far-Left Dominate 2027 Race
An "orphan electorate" still looking for someone
Mark
Why does a judo champion entering the race matter if he can't win?
Mimi
Because of what it says about the center. Five months out, voters are hungry for a fresh face, and polls point to a Le Pen versus Mélenchon runoff.
Mark
Le Pen is at 33.5 percent in the Ipsos poll. Is that decisive?
Luke
It's one poll. Ipsos has her at 33.5 and Mélenchon at 17, but the piece says Lisnard has ranged up to 9 percent in others. First-round numbers aren't a result, and the article says Mélenchon is the likeliest runoff opponent, not a certain one.
Mark
Why are Lisnard and Glucksmann rising?
Mimi
Neither worked for Macron. Philippe, Attal and Retailleau all held top jobs in his governments, and analysts say that taints them while Macron is as unpopular as Hollande.
Mark
And Lagarde?
Luke
She told La Croix running would not be a good idea. The speculation comes from newspapers, not from her. Analysts doubt it, and nothing in the reporting says she's reconsidering.
Mimi
Marlière reads the talk as a symptom of the center right's crisis rather than a real prospect.
Mark
Could Riner draw votes from somewhere unexpected?
Luke
Lévy suggests he might appeal to young voters now backing Mélenchon. That's one pollster's read. Riner's policies are still unformed, so there's little to test it against yet.
Le Pouls
- Marine Le Pen holds a commanding lead in the polls, and weeks of violent protest have only hardened the country's mood toward her.
- Centrist voters, feeling orphaned, face the prospect of a runoff between the far right and the far left and are scrambling for a candidate who can break the pattern.
- Riner, Lisnard and Glucksmann have entered the field as outsiders, while established centrists tied to Macron's government struggle to shake off their association with an unpopular administration.
- Analysts doubt that any newcomer can reach the second round, and the centrist bloc's hope now depends on whether a credible figure emerges before the spring 2027 vote.
Five months before France chooses a successor to Emmanuel Macron, its political middle finds itself unmoored, searching the horizon for someone untainted by the recent past. An Olympic judo champion, Teddy Riner, has stepped forward with a message of unity that few expect to carry him to power, yet his entry reveals a deeper restlessness. Behind the spectacle lies a familiar pattern: when a nation's anger grows louder, its moderates often go looking for a figure who seems to stand above the fray, and the search itself becomes a sign of how far the center has fallen.
This week Teddy Riner, a five-time Olympic judo champion and one of France's most beloved athletes, announced he is running for president. He is 37, has never held elected office, and few expect him to win the race to succeed Emmanuel Macron next spring. His announcement offers a welcome diversion, but it also reveals how restless France's political middle has become.
With five months until the vote, many voters are hungry for a fresh face. Marine Le Pen has led her rivals by a wide margin for months, and weeks of violent protests have only strengthened her position. Édouard Philippe, once the leading center-right candidate, has faded as unrest pushed voters toward calls for law and order on the right and social justice on the left. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the far-left firebrand, now looks most likely to face Le Pen in the second round, leaving centrists fearing a choice between two poles. Pollsters describe them as an orphan electorate, and one analyst calls the hunt for a white knight a sign of the centrist bloc's panic.
The search has produced many names. Christine Lagarde has ruled out a run, citing her age and her job, though speculation persists, as it does around Dominique de Villepin and François Hollande. Two newer faces have risen instead. David Lisnard, the mayor of Cannes, is a socially conservative free marketeer with a polished online presence. Raphaël Glucksmann, a European lawmaker and former documentary filmmaker, recently won a center-left primary. Neither served under Macron, a fact that matters greatly in a year when his own unpopularity rivals Hollande's. The established center-right candidates, by contrast, all held senior posts in Macron's governments, and that association weighs on them.
Analysts remain skeptical. Lisnard faces a crowded field, and Glucksmann comes from a center left that has nearly withered. Observers doubt that Lagarde's technocratic, pro-European profile suits an age of populism, though some argue that voters now prefer a figure over a detailed policy platform. Riner fits that mood. Born in Guadeloupe to parents who moved to mainland France, he presents his life story as proof of France's greatness and calls himself a candidate of neither the right nor the left. He has yet to lay out detailed policies, but he may draw young voters who now follow Mélenchon. Macron said he was very happy Riner had joined. The open question is whether a stronger centrist figure will appear before the spring vote.
This week Teddy Riner, a five-time Olympic gold medalist in judo and one of France's best-loved athletes, announced that he is running for president. He is 37 and has never held elected office. Few expect him to win the race to succeed Emmanuel Macron next spring. The announcement was less a turning point than a welcome diversion, and it exposed how restless France's political middle has become.
With five months until the vote, many voters are eager, even desperate, for a fresh face. The race looks increasingly likely to end in France's first far-right government since World War II. Marine Le Pen has led all her rivals by a wide margin for months. Weeks of protests, marred by violence, have shaken the country and only reinforced her lead. Édouard Philippe, the most prominent center-right candidate, has faded as the unrest sharpened the appeal of far-right calls for law and order and left-wing calls for social justice.
The far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon has also gained. He now looks the likeliest candidate to reach the second round against Le Pen in France's two-round system. That would leave voters choosing between two poles of the political spectrum. Jean-Daniel Lévy, deputy director of the polling firm Toluna France, said centrist voters fear exactly that duel. He called them an "orphan electorate" still looking for someone. Raphaël LLorca, an analyst at the left-leaning Jean-Jaurès Foundation, called the hunt for a white knight a sign of "the panic of the centrist bloc," and said the election is slipping away from them.
Other names tantalize them too. Christine Lagarde, a French lawyer and former finance minister, announced last month that she was resigning as president of the European Central Bank, saying she wanted the freedom to weigh in on political debates. She has ruled out a run, telling La Croix in September that it "would not be a good idea at all" and citing her age, 70, and the demands of the job. French newspapers keep speculating anyway. Dominique de Villepin, the former foreign minister and prime minister who announced France's refusal to join the 2003 invasion of Iraq, is weighing a bid. So is François Hollande, the center-left former president, who left office in 2017 with the lowest approval rating of any president of the Fifth Republic, founded in 1958.
Among declared candidates, two fresh faces have recently risen in the polls. David Lisnard, the mayor of Cannes, is a socially conservative free marketeer with a polished social media presence. A onetime journalist and the son of a professional soccer player, he was a vice president of the Republicans and founded his own party, New Energy, in 2021. Raphaël Glucksmann, a left-leaning member of the European Parliament and former documentary filmmaker, recently won a primary among center-left candidates. His father was the philosopher André Glucksmann. He has run on Socialist lists but was never a Socialist Party member, having founded Place Publique in 2018.
Neither man worked for Macron, who in his final months is rivaling Hollande in unpopularity. The three most established center-right candidates, Philippe, Gabriel Attal and Bruno Retailleau, all held top posts in Macron governments, and analysts say that tarnishes them in an election driven by a desire for change. Lévy said Lisnard and Glucksmann "are not accountable for the past." The latest Ipsos poll put Le Pen at 33.5 percent, Mélenchon at 17, and Glucksmann and Philippe at 13 each. Lisnard drew 6.5 percent, and as much as 9 in other recent polls. Analysts see both men facing a hard climb: Lisnard in a crowded center-right field, Glucksmann because the center left has all but withered.
Analysts are also doubtful about Lagarde. Philippe Marlière of University College London said her technocratic style and pro-European tilt would be a liability in an election fueled by populism and nationalism, and that the speculation says more about the crisis of the French center right. Thierry Breton, a former European Union commissioner whose name has also surfaced, said voters are turned off by conventional politicians with detailed policy agendas and are increasingly willing to vote for a figure or character.
Riner fits that mood. Born in Guadeloupe to parents who moved to mainland France in the early 1990s, he casts his life story as a testament to France's greatness and promises to be a unifying force. His policy positions are still a work in progress, and he calls himself a candidate of "neither the right nor the left." Lévy noted he could appeal to the young voters drawn to Mélenchon, a fixture at student-led protests. Riner told Le Parisien that he hears anger, but that France is a great country that allowed him to become who he is. Macron, who emerged as a fresh face midway through the 2017 campaign, said he was "very happy" Riner is joining and that it "can only benefit the country." The question now is whether a stronger centrist figure appears before the spring vote.
Citations marquantes
France is a great country. It allowed me to become the person I am.— Teddy Riner, in an interview with Le Parisien
It can only benefit the country.— President Emmanuel Macron, on Riner's candidacy
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