Olympic Judo Champion Teddy Riner Announces 2027 French Presidential Bid

Teddy Riner enters the presidential race

French judo star Teddy Riner announced his candidacy for the 2027 presidential election on Monday, November 9, catching the French political landscape entirely off guard.

At 37 years old, the five-time Olympic champion released a video on his social media channels to officially launch his campaign, according to Public Sénat.

The athlete, who was previously preparing for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, stated in his video: “Today we live side by side, I fear that tomorrow we will have to live face to face.” Sitting in front of a bookshelf wearing a white shirt and dark jacket, the judoka stated: “My name is Teddy Riner and I tell you, looking you in the eyes, I am a candidate for the presidential election.”

In a long interview with Le Parisien, he detailed his approach and unveiled his slogan: “The France we want.” He relies on a core group of about twenty figures from civil society, civil servants, and former ministers, is putting the finishing touches on finding a campaign headquarters, and promises to meet the French people, aiming to be the president who reconciles and unites.

Tackling debt and the economy

In his campaign launch, the heavyweight judoka addressed national economic issues, focusing heavily on public debt. He asked the public in his video: “Is it crazy to see France collapsing under the weight of debt, a little more every day? To see such a rich country tell itself it is poor?”

Expanding on these themes in an interview with Le Parisien, Riner rejected the notion that the country is doomed. Instead, he argued that France must learn to spend less and reinvest better. He regrets analysts “who monopolize the floor” and for whom “we are condemned,” stating that there are solutions and that the country is not condemned to suffer under debt, and indicating that he will detail his measures “soon.”

Proposals to increase net salaries and work flexibility

Riner shifted his focus from purchasing power to what he termed “the power to live,” arguing that workers must be able to live from their labor.

To achieve this, he proposed increasing net salaries and reducing the gap with gross pay through contribution reliefs. He also suggested allowing people to increase their incomes by working more, specifically by stepping outside the rigid framework of the 35-hour workweek without dismantling it entirely. He also asked: “Is it crazy to find it unbearable that a father or mother is gritting their teeth while filling their shopping cart?”

Support for pension reform and solidary distribution

On pensions, Riner voiced support for a solidary distribution-based system incorporating a component of capitalization, while factoring in demographics and arduous work criteria.

His campaign launch follows an idea that first germinated during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games—where he became the first heavyweight judoka to win three Olympic titles after eleven world titles, seeing a country gather proudly and happily before dividing weeks later—shaped later by autumn concerns over public frustration, anger, and anxiety, and following a September incident where he was targeted by the far right after expressing his anguish over the rise of that movement.

A crowded 2027 electoral field

Riner enters a presidential race that already features a dense lineup of contenders ahead of the first round scheduled for April 18, 2027, acknowledging there are already many candidates but assuring he wants to go all the way, while adding that judo will always be part of his life and not ruling out participating in the 2028 Los Angeles Games if the function allows and the French authorize it.

Centrist challengers include former Prime Ministers Édouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal, alongside Olivier Becht and Dominique de Villepin.

On the left, Jean-Luc Mélenchon has declared his candidacy, while European Parliament member Raphaël Glucksmann emerged from an October primary with 66.13% of the vote, alongside independent campaigns from figures such as Marine Tondelier, Karim Bouamrane, François Ruffin, Fabien Roussel, and Delphine Batho. On the right, Bruno Retailleau stands among the declared contenders.