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Politics

Teddy Riner runs for president in 2027, saying resignation is not an option

A bombshell in the race for the Élysée: the five-time Olympic judo champion announces his candidacy, says he is neither left nor right, and sketches out his first proposals on pensions, wages and the 35-hour week.

By The newsroomPublished 9 November at 12:20
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Portrait of Teddy Riner in Paris in 2010 (archive photo)
Photo : Nicolas Richoffer / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Nobody saw it coming. Teddy Riner is running for president in 2027. The 37-year-old judoka and five-time Olympic champion announced it on Monday 9 November in an interview with Le Parisien and in a video posted on social media.

Resignation is not an option, he wrote on X. Speaking to camera in a dark suit, the athlete casts himself as a man of the people against career politicians: in his view, France needs common sense, firmness and justice, not a leader who recites lessons. His campaign already has a slogan, "La France qu'on veut" ("The France we want"), and a declared positioning: neither left nor right.

He is also bracing for ridicule. If refusing to bow his head and refusing chaos makes him crazy, then yes, he is completely crazy, he says in his video.

A programme still in outline

The Guadeloupe-born champion says he has been working on his platform for several months. He revealed its broad strokes:

  • Pensions: a reform he considers unavoidable, taking demographics and arduous jobs into account, keeping the pay-as-you-go system but without ruling out a funded component.
  • Wages: raising take-home pay by narrowing the gap between gross and net, through cuts in payroll charges. He prefers to speak of "power to live" rather than purchasing power.
  • Working time: letting those who wish to work more do so, breaking out of the rigid framework of the 35-hour week without abolishing it.
  • Debt: France, in his view, is a rich country that thinks it is poor; he promises details later.

On foreign policy he kept it short: working with allies and earning more respect. He joked that we would see who has the firmest handshake, in a nod to Donald Trump.

Why now

Riner traces his decision to the aftermath of the Paris 2024 Games: a country united, then divided again a few weeks later. He says he sees no candidate able to bring the French together rather than set them against each other, as social anger has been spilling onto the streets for several weeks.

Another surprise: he is not giving up sport. He is still aiming for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, if the office allows it and if the French people let him.

First reactions

Édouard Philippe, the Horizons candidate, reacted on BFMTV, calling him a heavyweight candidate and saying he was not afraid of him but admired him. Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, president of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee, spoke of a surprise and welcomed a message of unity, while recalling the institution's political neutrality. Judoka Axel Clerget said he had seen it coming and praised his former teammate's courage.

What happens next

Riner joins an ever-growing list of contenders, a few months before the first round set for 18 April 2027. He has promised to go into the detail of his proposals soon, notably on the debt.

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Sources

#2027 presidential election#Teddy Riner#Édouard Philippe#Judo

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