Judo champion shakes up French presidential race with surprise candidacy

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Judo champion shakes up French presidential race with surprise candidacyImage source, ReutersImage caption, Five-times Olympic champion Teddy Riner is one of France's most popular athletesByHugh SchofieldIn ParisPublished50 minutes agoApart from an overwhelming urge to pin one's opponent to the floor of the house, there is no obvious connection between politics and the world of top-level judo. That has not stopped France's much-garlanded world heavyweight champion Teddy Riner from throwing his hat into the ring for next April's presidential race. The Guadeloupe-born 37-year-old may have no experience of public office, no party behind him, and as yet no manifesto.

All so far is a slogan La France qu'on aime (The France we love), a declaration on social media, and a campaign visit to a hospital in the Seine-Saint-Denis suburb of northern Paris. But it would be a foolhardy pundit who would totally write off his chances. Riner is, after all, one of the most popular figures in modern-day France, regularly topping the polls for embodying the nation's "values".

The Details

He is a proven winner, with five Olympic golds and 11 world championships under his belt, as well as a successful career in business. More than 28 million people have watched his election broadcast on Instagram and X, shot with proper presidential decorum against a backdrop of books and a French flag. Some 22% told an Ifop poll within 24 hours they "could" vote for him.

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Teddy Riner's video has attracted 14. 5 million views on Instagram aloneActors and television personalities have become presidents in other countries. The ex-leader of Liberia – George Weah – was formerly a professional footballer.

So why not a judoka in the Élysée Palace? "Anyone who thinks that being out of the political in-crowd disqualifies Riner from running for the Élysée would be very wrong," says Guillaume Tabard of Le Figaro. "But too would be wrong if he thinks not belonging to the in-crowd is all it takes.

What Experts Say

"For now the whole of the French political world has decided to take the Riner candidacy seriously – or at least to pretend to. That is partly because he is such a popular personality that mocking his political hopes could easily rebound badly. But it is also because the state of French politics – outside of the burgeoning forces of the hard left and hard right – is one of total disarray.

The centre-ground is floundering, with no candidate yet emerging who can inspire anything like the sense of mission of hard-right leader Marine Le Pen and Jean-Luc Mélenchon on the hard left, who for now look set to face off in the final round of the presidential election in May. So when a popular figure like Riner enters the race - proclaiming himself "neither left, nor right", wanting to "unite the country" and "put money back in people's pockets", railing equally against "racists" and "yobs who scare people off our streets" – politicians have to take note.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.