Teddy Riner, France's most decorated judoka, said on Monday he will run for president in April 2027, pitching himself as neither left nor right.
The 37-year-old has never held office, and he enters a race shaped by months of unrest and by Marine Le Pen's lead in the polls.
Riner made the announcement in a video on X and in an interview with the French daily Le Parisien.
A candidate who says he is neither left nor right
My name is Teddy Riner and today, I am telling you face to face: I am a candidate in the 2027 presidential election
Neither left-wing nor right-wing, he said he wants to be a candidate of unity who brings the French people together.
France does not need a professional politician who lectures and bickers all day. It needs common sense, goodness and a state that puts things as they should be.
With no political career behind him and no ties to the establishment, Riner said he expected to be thought crazy.
I won't be among those who stand by and watch the country burn, looking for excuses. My life hasn't been spent behind a desk. Fighting has always been a part of who I am. I know what it's like to struggle, to fall, and to get back up, time and time again
Anger, the far right and the Paris Games
The rise of the far right in France is one reason he gave for running.
He also said the anger and anxiety of the past autumn pushed him into the race, along with a feeling that nobody was addressing them.
The Paris 2024 Games, he said, showed a country pulling together. He argued France should be able to keep that spirit beyond the Games.
I saw a whole country come together, proud, happy. I thought to myself, what we have been able to do for 15 days, we must be able to do for the country.
France, he said, had allowed him to become the person he is and given him the chance to dream big. What's missing now, in his account, is that ambition and that hope.
A sporting record counted two ways
Riner was born in Guadeloupe and grew up in Paris. His Olympic record is counted two ways. He won heavyweight gold at the 2012, 2016 and 2024 Games and mixed team gold at the 2020 and 2024 Games; some accounts call him a five-time Olympic gold medallist, others a three-time Olympic champion.
He has two Olympic bronze medals and nine heavyweight world titles and two in the openweight class, by one count. Another count gives him 11 world titles, and he is the first judoka to win 12 medals at the world championships.
Riner lit the Olympic cauldron at the Paris 2024 opening ceremony alongside the retired sprinter Marie-Jose Perec.
Outside sport, his business interests run through the TR Leader Group holding company, covering audiovisual production, real estate, sports apparel and commercial branding.
Last year, he hinted that if he entered politics, he would want the presidency rather than a ministerial post.
The precedent went the slow way
David Douillet offers the closest comparison among French judo stars: he won a parliamentary seat in 2009, then became sports minister from September 2011 to May 2012. Douillet moved from parliament into a ministry; Riner is seeking the presidency first.
Two judo champions, two routes into politics
Teddy Riner
Judoka, 37
- Announced a presidential bid on 9 November 2026
- Has never held political office
- Said he expects to be thought crazy for it
David Douillet
Judoka and former minister
- Elected to parliament in 2009
- Sports minister from September 2011 to May 2012
The race he is joining
The vote to choose Emmanuel Macron's successor is due in April 2027. Macron can't run again after two consecutive terms.
In an IFOP poll for LCI conducted from 27 to 29 October, Marine Le Pen of the National Rally was on 36% and Jean-Luc Mélenchon of France Unbowed on an estimated 17.6% of voting intentions.
Le Pen received between 34% and 36%, while Mélenchon scored between 18% and 19%, in a poll published on Monday by RTL and M6, conducted by Toluna Harris Interactive.
| IFOP for LCI, 27 to 29 October | Toluna Harris Interactive for RTL and M6, published 9 November | |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Le Pen | 36% | 34% to 36% |
| Jean-Luc Mélenchon | 17.6%, estimated | 18% to 19% |
| Édouard Philippe | 11% to 14% | |
| Raphaël Glucksmann | 11% to 13% |
Riner does not appear in either survey.
His announcement came after weeks of civil unrest that began in September with student protests over staff shortages and dilapidated schools, then widened into demonstrations over the cost of living, living standards and labour rights.
The campaign slogan is "The France we want".
- SeptemberUnrest begins
Student protests over staff shortages and dilapidated schools widen into demonstrations over the cost of living, living standards and labour rights.
- 27 to 29 OctoberIFOP poll
Le Pen on 36%, Mélenchon on an estimated 17.6% of voting intentions.
- 9 November 2026Riner declares
A video on X and an interview with Le Parisien.
- 18 April 2027First round
Voters choose Macron's successor.
- 2 May 2027Runoff
Held if no candidate wins a majority.
He said he plans to continue his sporting career and hopes to compete at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, if the public allows it. Combining that with a presidential run or serving as president, he said, would depend on the office and the public's permission.
A lot of people around me have been telling me about their first handshake with Donald Trump. We'll see who has the firmer handshake
What we know
- Riner announced his candidacy on 9 November 2026.
- The first round is set for 18 April 2027, with a second round on 2 May if no candidate wins a majority.
- He does not appear in either published poll.
Still unclear
- Whether he will compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics while running for or serving as president.
- Whether the candidacy reshapes the race, beyond a possibility raised by his popularity.
- The full field of candidates, and whether anyone can clear 50% in the first round.
The first round is on 18 April 2027. A second round follows on 2 May if no candidate wins a majority.
