Five-time Olympic judo champion Teddy Riner enters 2027 French presidential race
The five-time Olympic champion says he wants to unite a divided country and must collect 500 elected-official endorsements to qualify.
- On Monday, 37-year-old Olympic champion Teddy Riner announced his candidacy for France's 2027 presidential election, seeking to replace incumbent President Emmanuel Macron.
- Beyond his success as a nine-time world champion judoka, Riner has built a career presenting the Netflix show Love is Blind: France and managing the Leader Group.
- Riner told Parisien newspaper on Monday that he aims to "bring the French population together," positioning himself as "neither right-wing nor left-wing."
- A Toluna Harris Interactive survey shows Marine Le Pen leading with 34% to 36% of the vote for the April 18, 2027 election, reflecting a polarized landscape.
- His announcement follows weeks of civil unrest across France, as student protests over school conditions and cost of living concerns broadened into wider demonstrations regarding labor rights.
378 Articles
378 Articles
Saviour or straw fire? The multi-medal athlete Teddy Riner was declared a candidate for the election of April 2027. A big deal... weighing 140 kilos.
Ahead of a presidential election in France, God and all people are registering as candidates. But now a name has emerged that both shocks and delights the French: multiple judo champion and national icon Teddy Riner. Can he unite a divided nation?
Credited by 22% of voting intentions according to a poll, the Olympic champion and now presidential candidate pushes the staffs, from Jean-Luc Mélenchon to Édouard Philippe, passing through
Teddy Riner, one of the most popular French athletes, will also enter the ring, and others may also enter the competition. The field should be narrowing by then, but it is not yet clear who could defeat the far-right.
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der Standard DEFrench judo star Teddy Riner will compete in the upcoming presidential elections – destabilising the two biggest favorites
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