In a brief video posted on his social networks, the icon of French sport made a striking entrance into the presidential race where polls currently give Marine Le Pen (RN) a crushing lead, ahead of Jean-Luc Mélenchon (LFI) and the other candidates.
“I know what they’ll say about me: He’s crazy. He’s not part of the in-crowd. He doesn’t have the codes. He’s never done politics,” explains the 37-year-old Guadeloupean, before cutting to the chase. “If refusing to bow his head and refusing chaos makes me crazy, then yes, I am completely crazy.”
Riner worries about a France that “is collapsing under the weight of debt,” and mourns the sight of “a father or mother gripping their teeth while filling their cart.”
He laments that “the authority of the State has disappeared” in the face of “the thugs,” but also “bureaucratic heaviness” or even “the possibility of ruining a young person’s future simply because they don’t have the right network, the right name, or the right color.”
Blank Page
In a long interview with Le Parisien, the French giant (2.03 m tall and 140 kg), eleven-time world champion, adds that he intends to continue his athletic career and participate in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, “if the role allows me and if the French authorize me.”
His decision to stand for office dates back to after the 2024 Paris Games, where he saw “an entire country come together, proud and happy. Then split again a few weeks later.”
Even though there are “already many candidates,” he says he intends to “go all the way.” “The only risk I see today is being resigned to choosing between two options, those of the extremes,” the judoka notes, affirming that he does not identify as either right-wing or left-wing.
Few of his rivals have reacted
Former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, with a smile, deemed it a “heavyweight candidate.” Does this new challenger scare him? “No, no, I admire him.” Teddy Riner’s camp told AFP that he considered himself capable of winning the election.
Erwan Lestrohan, from the Odoxa polling institute, warns that the judoka is very popular, but “this sympathy capital will not necessarily translate into electoral capital.”
Voters decide based on the ability to manage purchasing power, international affairs, or education. “On all these topics Teddy Riner is a true blank page for the French,” emphasizes the expert.
Pension Reform
His program “is ready and solid,” his entourage assured AFP. He has been preparing it for several months with a team of experts, including former Health Minister (2022-23) François Braun, who says he was convinced by his “desire to bring the French together rather than pit them against each other,” and his “courage to think outside the box.”
Asked by Le Parisien, Teddy Riner calls for a pension reform “because the current system cannot hold.” He advocates for “increasing net wages,” which “must come through tax relief,” and to allow “the French who wish to raise their income by working more.”
He indicates a desire to quickly go “to the ground” to launch his campaign, funded by “donations, fundraising appeals, but also by his own funds.”
Beside Teddy Riner stands entrepreneur Philippe Véran, who has notably made a fortune in dental implants. Formerly close to Emmanuel Macron, who was among his early supporters in 2016, Véran has taken the lead of the fundraising association for the judoka’s campaign.
Riner had already spoken of political engagement. As early as September 2025, he told AFP: “If I go into politics tomorrow, it’s not to hold a ministerial post, it’s to have a role that changes things. For me, the best role would be president.”
Regularly weighing in on social issues, he was the target of racist remarks in September after mentioning on the Stade 2 program his “anxiety” about “the rise of the far right” in France.
Riner has also invested heavily in business. Close to Morocco’s king Mohammed VI, he spent recent years between Marrakech, “his base of operations,” and Paris, drawing criticism for his purported lavish lifestyle.
On October 15, the Versailles Administrative Court of Appeal affirmed the tax authorities in a 2019 adjustment related to the judoka and his luxury car rental company. Bércy had flagged his personal use of certain vehicles.
