French judoka Teddy Riner has announced this Monday that he will run in the presidential elections of France, whose first round is scheduled for April 2027. The athlete has said that he wants to bring "common sense, firmness, justice and a State that puts things in their place" to "a country that is burning."
"Look at our country, look at our streets, our fields, our neighborhoods. We have let fear, resignation, and a widespread feeling of abandonment take hold. My name is Teddy Riner and today I tell you this while looking you in the eyes: I am a candidate for the presidential elections", he said in a video published on his social networks, in which he draws on the values of "authentic effort" in sport as the foundation of his project.
In that same message, the champion emphasized: "I know what it is to fight, to fall, and to get back up, always", before asking his compatriots to join him, recalling how, as he said, he "filled [them] with pride during the Games" held in Paris in 2024.
The multiple Olympic medalist argues that "France does not need a professional politician who recites lessons and spends the day arguing" but "common sense, firmness, justice, and a State that puts things in their place." Along those lines, he has said that his goal is to "straighten out" the country together with "all" the French and not "from above."
Riner, who at no point has mentioned a possible presence in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, has defended his move into the electoral arena despite the fact that, as he himself admits, "he does not belong to the circle of power, does not know the rules of the game, has never devoted himself to politics."
"They are going to say what they are going to say about me: he is crazy. But what is crazy today? Is it crazy to refuse to see how France collapses every day a little further under the weight of debt? To see how your child goes out onto the street because public space has been left in the hands of criminals and the authority of the State has disappeared? Is it crazy to refuse to allow the future of a young person to be ruined just because they do not have the right contacts, the right surname, or the right color?", the athlete asked in his remarks.
"If refusing chaos turns me into a madman, then yes, I'm completely mad. I won't be one of those who watch as the country burns while excuses are being sought," has hammered home the five-time Olympic champion, eleven-time world champion and five-time European champion, thus asserting his commitment to the future of France.