A celebrated judo champion, whose career was built on discipline and public affection, has stepped out of the arena of sport and into the much rougher ring of French politics. Teddy Riner, with no party, no manifesto and no record in office, is asking a country exhausted by division and debt to trust his unspoken hope that it can be unified. That a fifth of the electorate already says it could follow him reveals less about his program than about the hunger for a figure who seems to stand outside the quarrels that have worn the nation down. Whether that hunger becomes a vote in April will depen
Judo Champion Teddy Riner Enters France's Presidential Race, Unsettling the Political Field
Neither right nor left means not left.
Mark
Twenty-two percent say they could vote for him. That sounds big. Is it?
Mimi
It's a striking number for someone who declared a day earlier, and the broadcast drew more than 28 million views. But it's a measure of openness, not a vote.
Luke
Right, and the poll says "could." Ifop asked within 24 hours of the launch, at the peak of attention. We don't know how many would actually choose him.
Mark
Why are the other politicians being so careful with him?
Mimi
He's among the most popular figures in the country, so mocking him risks backlash. And the centre is in disarray, so his entry matters more than it would in a settled field.
Mark
Who benefits?
Mimi
Mélenchon, most plainly. A dozen or so candidates already split the centre, and another one makes it likelier he reaches the second round. He said as much in his own way: neither right nor left means not left.
Luke
Though that's the analysis's reading of the arithmetic, not a poll result. Nobody has shown yet whose votes Riner would actually take.
Mark
And Macron's praise?
Mimi
Riner called it a poisoned chalice and said he's not a Macronist. He wants distance from an unpopular president.
Luke
What we still don't know is almost everything about substance. No manifesto, no named team, no stated positions on pensions or Ukraine. His lean to the right on economics is the analyst's impression, not something he has laid out.
Der Puls
- A five-time Olympic champion with no political experience has entered the French presidential race, and his launch video has drawn over 28 million views within days.
- A 22% poll showing voters could back him has shaken a field of roughly a dozen centrist and centre-right candidates, each now fearing their own numbers will be diluted.
- Mélenchon is quietly pleased, Macron has praised him, and Riner has sharply rejected the president's embrace, insisting he is no one's envoy.
- His campaign still rests on a slogan, a social media address and a single hospital visit, with no team, manifesto or stated positions on pensions, debt or Ukraine yet on the table.
- The race is landing somewhere uncertain: a brief burst of hype could fade, or the newcomer could reshape the arithmetic and leave the centre with nothing to smile about.
A celebrated judo champion, whose career was built on discipline and public affection, has stepped out of the arena of sport and into the much rougher ring of French politics. Teddy Riner, with no party, no manifesto and no record in office, is asking a country exhausted by division and debt to trust his unspoken hope that it can be unified. That a fifth of the electorate already says it could follow him reveals less about his program than about the hunger for a figure who seems to stand outside the quarrels that have worn the nation down. Whether that hunger becomes a vote in April will depend on what he chooses to say once the applause fades.
Last Monday, Teddy Riner sat in front of a wall of books and a French flag and told the country he was running for president. The video, posted on Instagram and X, has been watched more than 28 million times, and within a day an Ifop poll found 22% of respondents saying they could vote for him.
Riner is 37, born in Guadeloupe, with five Olympic golds and eleven world championships in judo, and a successful business career behind him. He has no experience of public office, no party and no manifesto. His campaign so far is a slogan, La France qu'on aime, the online declaration and a visit to a hospital in Seine-Saint-Denis.
He presents himself as neither left nor right. He speaks of uniting the country, returning money to people's pockets, and confronting both racism and the fear of street violence. When critics called him a fool for trying, he answered that worrying about national debt and parents fearing for their children made the risk worth taking. Commentators note that being outside the political establishment does not disqualify him, but that it is not enough on its own.
Politicians across the spectrum have chosen to take him seriously, since mocking a figure so popular could backfire. The centre, meanwhile, lacks a candidate with the mission of Le Pen or Mélenchon, and Riner's arrival crowds a space already filled by Glucksmann, Retailleau and others. Mélenchon welcomed the news with a jab, Macron praised him, and Riner bristled at being claimed by the president.
The campaign may fade, or it may reshape the race. The hard part now is building a team and taking clear positions on pensions, schooling, living costs, debt, populism and Ukraine. As the analysis puts it, politics offers no bow to the opponent before the fight.
Last Monday, Teddy Riner sat in front of a wall of books and a French flag and told the country he was running for president. The broadcast, posted on Instagram and X, has since been watched more than 28 million times. Within 24 hours, an Ifop poll found 22% of respondents saying they could vote for him.
Riner is 37, born in Guadeloupe, and the holder of five Olympic golds and 11 world championships in judo. He has also built a successful business career. What he does not have is any experience of public office, a party behind him, or a manifesto. So far his campaign consists of a slogan, La France qu'on aime (The France we love), the social media declaration, and a campaign visit to a hospital in Seine-Saint-Denis, in the northern suburbs of Paris.
In his broadcast he cast himself as neither left nor right. He said he wants to unite the country and put money back in people's pockets, and he took aim at both racists and what he called yobs who scare people off the streets. He also answered critics who call him a fool for trying. If refusing to watch France sink under its debt, or to watch parents grit their teeth at the weekly shop and fear for their children on the street, makes him a fool, he said, then so be it. Guillaume Tabard of Le Figaro offered a measured verdict: anyone who thinks being outside the political in-crowd disqualifies Riner is wrong, but so is Riner if he thinks that is all it takes.
French politicians have decided to take him seriously, or to look as if they do. Mocking a figure who regularly tops polls for embodying the nation's values could backfire. There is also a structural reason. Outside the rising hard left and hard right, French politics is in disarray. The centre has no candidate with the sense of mission of Marine Le Pen on the hard right or Jean-Luc Mélenchon on the hard left, who for now look set to meet in the final round in May.
Riner's positioning lands in already crowded territory. He appears to lean right on economics and law and order, while speaking forcefully against racism as a black man of Caribbean background. When he says he opposes extremism, he mainly means Le Pen. Ex-prime ministers Edouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal have failed to take off in the same space. Roughly a dozen candidates now sit between centre right and centre left, from Raphaël Glucksmann, backed by the Socialists, to Bruno Retailleau of the Republicans. Christine Lagarde, who leaves the European Central Bank next February, is a possible addition. Each new entrant dilutes the others' numbers and makes a second-round place for Mélenchon more likely.
Unsurprisingly, Mélenchon, leader of France Unbowed, seemed pleased. "Neither right nor left means not left," he told reporters on Friday. President Emmanuel Macron also welcomed the news, calling Riner a great champion and saying politics did not belong to the professionals. That may reflect his cool relations with Philippe and Attal, both of whom are distancing themselves from their unpopular former boss. Riner was not grateful. He called Macron's praise a poisoned chalice and told reporters on Saturday that he is not the president's envoy and not a Macronist.
The BBC's analysis allows that the campaign could fizzle after a brief burst of hype. It could also upset the pre-election arithmetic, and the centrists would not be the ones smiling. Riner says he never does anything half-heartedly, and the hard part starts now: who is on his team, and where he stands on pensions, education, the cost of living, public debt, populism and Russia's war in Ukraine. Judo, in Japanese, means the gentle way. Politics, the analysis notes, has no bow to the opponent before the fight.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
Neither right nor left means not left.— Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of France Unbowed, to reporters on Friday
He is not the president's envoy and not a Macronist, and he called Macron's praise a poisoned chalice.— Teddy Riner, to reporters on Saturday
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