Teddy Riner enters 2027 race to succeed France's Emmanuel Macron

Teddy Riner, the Olympic judo champion, announced Monday that he is running in France's 2027 presidential election, seeking to succeed President Emmanuel Macron despite having no political experience.

Macron has served two consecutive terms and is ineligible to run again. Voters are due to choose his successor in April next year.

“My name is Teddy Riner and today, I am telling you face to face: I am a candidate in the 2027 presidential election,” Riner said in a video announcing his campaign. In an accompanying post on X, he said resignation was not an option and that the country's difficulties made it time to take responsibility.

La résignation n'est pas une option. Face aux difficultés de notre pays, l'heure est venue de prendre ses responsabilités.⁰⁰Je suis candidat à l'élection présidentielle de 2027. ⁰⁰#TeddyRiner2027 #Présidentielle2027 #LaFrancequonveut

— Teddy Riner (@teddyriner) November 9, 2026

Riner, 37, launched a campaign website Monday with the slogan “La France qu’on veut” (“The France we want”).

He said the 2024 Paris Olympics prompted his decision to enter politics because he saw the country unite. “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,” he said.

A bid to bring people together

Riner told Le Parisien in an interview published Monday that he stood neither on the right nor the left and wanted to be “A president who brings people together.” He said France was experiencing deep divisions.

“And in the face of that, I don’t see a single candidate putting forward a credible and fair vision capable of bringing the French people together rather than dividing them,” Riner said.

Polls put nationalist Marine Le Pen in the lead to succeed Macron, ahead of hard-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, The Associated Press reported.

When asked whether his candidacy should be taken seriously, Riner said “what would be irresponsible would be to remain silent and stand by as a spectator to what is happening in our country, and what has been happening for several years now.”

His entry into the race follows weeks of large protest marches in Paris and across France, where demonstrators have called for higher wages and supported a student protest movement. Riner said he recognized the social tensions and could not accept young people and older generations saying they struggle to imagine a future for themselves.

“I’m running for president to show that we can get France back on its feet,” Riner said in the interview.

Policy plans and Olympic hopes

Riner said he and a team were developing a program that includes pension reform, spending cuts and reinvesting money “better,” according to Les Echos, which cited his Le Parisien interview. He said he would provide further details soon.

If elected, Riner said, his first international priority would be to ensure France works well with its allies and commands greater respect. Laughing, he said, “A lot of people around me have been talking about my first handshake with Donald Trump.”

Riner said in September that he wanted to finish his career with a fourth individual Olympic gold at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. Asked by Le Parisien whether the presidential bid meant abandoning his Olympic plans, he said, “Not if my duties as president allow it and the French people give me their blessing.”

Olympic record

A 2.04-meter (6-foot-8) heavyweight, Riner was born in Guadeloupe and raised in Paris. He collected Olympic heavyweight golds in 2012, 2016 and 2024, plus mixed team golds at the 2020 and 2024 Games, giving him five Olympic gold medals.

His record also includes two Olympic bronze medals and 11 world titles.

The Associated Press describes Riner as consistently ranked among France's favorite public figures and says he holds liberal economic views.

“If tomorrow I enter politics, it wouldn’t be to be a minister, it would be to change things. The best role would be president,” Riner said in an interview last year.

In an earlier interview with French sports TV show Stade 2, Riner said the rise of extremism left him “freaked out.” Asked whether he meant both sides, he answered, “the far right.” French authorities said in September that they investigated online racial abuse directed at Riner after he voiced concern about the rise of the far right.

French law requires Riner to collect 500 signatures from elected officials to appear on the ballot.