Judo champion Teddy Riner launches outsider bid in French presidential election
Summary
- Judo champion Teddy Riner, 37 and winner of five Olympic golds, announced on 9 November 2026 his candidacy in the April French presidential election.
- He has no party and no manifesto yet, running on the slogan 'La France qu'on aime' and saying he is neither right nor left and wants to unite the French.
- A dozen or so candidates crowd the centre ground; polls show Marine Le Pen leading and Jean-Luc Mélenchon second six months before the vote.
- An Ifop poll found 22 percent could vote for him within 24 hours; his announcement broadcast drew more than 28 million views.
- Days before the announcement, the Versailles administrative court of appeal confirmed tax reassessments against him, and his real-estate firm Riner Estate was liquidated in September.
- He says program details will come later, including a pension overhaul open to a share of capitalization, and he plans to keep competing in judo.
Reactions
- Emmanuel Macron said he was 'very happy' that a 'great champion' had entered the debate, adding that politics did not belong to the professionals.
- Teddy Riner called Macron's praise a 'poisoned chalice', telling reporters he is 'not the president's envoy' and 'not a Macronist'.
- Jean-Luc Mélenchon warned that 'neither right nor left means not left', while quipping that the right finally has a candidate who looks like something.
- Édouard Philippe said he recognized himself in Riner's themes of work, effort and authority, and David Lisnard noted objectives he had long shared.
- Pierre Gattaz said Teddy Riner can embody values of work, merit and enormous respectability.
- A satirical open letter mocked Riner's rhetoric as recycled right-wing lines and portrayed him as a multimillionaire businessman with tax troubles.
Timeline newest first
A satirical open letter said Teddy Riner's 9 November candidacy announcement recycled right-wing rhetoric from Nicolas Sarkozy, Gérald Darmanin, Gabriel Attal, Laurent Wauquiez and Gérard Collomb.
Teddy Riner entered the April presidential race with no party and no manifesto, on the slogan 'La France qu'on aime', with a campaign visit to a hospital in Seine-Saint-Denis.
Emmanuel Macron, informed in advance, publicly welcomed Teddy Riner's candidacy hours after the announcement, saying the life of the nation does not belong to professionals.
Teddy Riner announced in a video posted to social media that he is running for president of France, six months before the vote to succeed Emmanuel Macron.
Sources newest first
Cher Teddy Riner – Boxing Day #102
Jules Blaster's satirical open letter mocks Teddy Riner's supposed 2027 presidential candidacy, whose rhetoric — borrowed from Sarkozy, Darmanin, Attal, Wauquiez and Gérard Collomb — it derides as recycled right-wing talk of work, effort and authority. Behind the sportsman it paints a multimillionaire businessman with tax reassessments, a liquidated property firm, right-wing advisers, and concludes he is one more apologist of authoritarian neoliberalism.
Judo champion Teddy Riner shakes up French presidential race with surprise candidacy
The BBC's Hugh Schofield reports that France's judo champion Teddy Riner, 37 and winner of five Olympic golds, has entered the April presidential race with no party, no manifesto, and a slogan, "La France qu'on aime" — and that an Ifop poll found 22% could vote for him. Schofield expects the crowded centre field to splinter further, judges the campaign may fizzle, and quotes Jean-Luc Mélenchon's warning that "neither right nor left means not left".
Présidentielle 2027 : comment Emmanuel Macron a adoubé la candidature de Teddy Riner
Le Monde reports how Emmanuel Macron, informed in advance, publicly welcomed Teddy Riner's candidacy for the 2027 presidential election hours after the judoka announced it on 9 November. Riner's video line that France needs no professional of politics echoes Macron's own "antisystem" and "proud to be amateurs" themes, and Le Monde judges Macron found a successor who suits him and claimed a share of the credit.
Judo star announces run for president of France
A roundup led by Olympic judo champion Teddy Riner's announcement that he is running for president of France amid cost-of-living protests six months before the vote to succeed Emmanuel Macron, with polls showing Marine Le Pen leading. Also: Scott Colom criticizes the Cook Political Report's 'Likely R' rating of his Mississippi Senate race while claiming a lead; Vanderbilt investigates a ransomware incident; Cranbury Township, N.J. says thieves took about $26 million; the Postal Service plans 2027 stamps honoring Pat Summitt and Willie Mays; Dan Patrick urges Texas Republicans to strip Lt. Gov.-elect Vikki Goodwin of power; and Justice Department officials resign as Trump considers T. Elliot Gaiser for a judgeship.
Teddy Riner annonce être candidat à l’élection présidentielle de 2027, poussé par la « colère » sociale et l’envie de « fédérer » les Français
Le Monde reports that judoka Teddy Riner, triple Olympic and eleven-time world champion, announced on 9 November in an interview with Le Parisien that he is running in the 2027 French presidential election. Saying he is "neither of the right nor of the left" and wants to be the president who unites the French, he keeps his sports career open and says his program's details will come later.
Background newest first
Mississippi Senate candidate Scott Colom attacks Cook Political Report accuracy
Mississippi Senate candidate Scott Colom, a Democrat, attacks the Cook Political Report for rating his race against Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith "Likely R," saying its ratings hampered his fundraising, while claiming he leads by nearly 2,600 votes. The page also reports a ransomware incident at Vanderbilt University, a $26 million theft from Cranbury Township, N.J., judo champion Teddy Riner's run for French president, Dan Patrick's push to strip power from Texas lieutenant governor-elect Vikki Goodwin, Justice Department resignations, and 2027 stamps honoring Pat Summitt and Willie Mays.
Vanderbilt University shuts down devices after cyber attack
The Washington Post rounds up developing stories, led by Vanderbilt University's shutdown of devices amid a cyber attack and a purported ransomware claim of stolen records. It also covers Scott Colom's attack on the Cook Political Report's Mississippi rating, Cranbury Township's loss of about $26 million to theft, judo star Teddy Riner's French presidential bid, Texas Republicans' talk of stripping Lt. Gov.-elect Vikki Goodwin's powers, a Justice Department exodus, and 2027 stamps honoring Pat Summitt and Willie Mays.
Pat Summitt, Willie Mays, unicorns featured on new postage stamps
A Washington Post digest leads with the U.S. Postal Service's 2027 stamps honoring Pat Summitt, coach of eight national titles, and Willie Mays, whose stamp shows "The Catch," alongside unicorns, Halloween monsters and vegetables. It also reports Scott Colom leading Cindy Hyde-Smith by nearly 2,600 votes while criticizing the Cook Political Report's "Likely R" rating, a ransomware attack that prompted Vanderbilt to shut down devices, Cranbury Township's $26 million theft, Teddy Riner's French presidential bid, a Republican push to strip Texas lieutenant governor-elect Vikki Goodwin of power, and Justice Department churn.
Texas lieutenant governor supports stripping Democratic successor of powers
The Washington Post's live page reports that Dan Patrick, defeated by Democrat Vikki Goodwin in Texas's lieutenant governor race, urged Republican state senators to strip the office's powers before she takes office, and that Goodwin warned they would do so at their peril. It also covers Scott Colom's criticism of the Cook Political Report as he leads Cindy Hyde-Smith by nearly 2,600 votes, a ransomware attack on Vanderbilt University, a $26 million theft in Cranbury Township, Teddy Riner's run for French president, Justice Department resignations, and 2027 stamps honoring Pat Summitt and Willie Mays.
Post-midterm DOJ leadership shake-up continues
The live blog reports a post-election exodus at the Justice Department: civil division head Brett Shumate resigned, and a White House official says President Trump is actively considering nominating Office of Legal Counsel head T. Elliot Gaiser to a federal judgeship in North Texas. It also covers Democrat Scott Colom, who leads Cindy Hyde-Smith by nearly 2,600 votes in Mississippi and faults the Cook Political Report for rating his race "Likely R"; a BYOD ransomware attack on Vanderbilt University; Cranbury Township's reported $26 million theft; Teddy Riner's entry into France's presidential race; and Dan Patrick's push to strip powers from Lt. Gov.-elect Vikki Goodwin.
What to expect in Congress this week
The Washington Post's live updates follow Congress's first week back after the midterms gave Democrats both chambers, as Republicans try to advance Trump's agenda before January, Rep. Thomas Massie files impeachment articles against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the Iran war ahead of a possible Wednesday vote, and House and Senate Republicans elect new leadership Tuesday. Also covered: Teddy Riner's run for French president, Texas Republicans weighing a strip of Lt. Gov.-elect Vikki Goodwin's Senate powers, a recount in Florida's 27th District, and Justice Department resignations.
Présidentielle 2027 : Emmanuel Macron préconise une coalition de Glucksmann à Lisnard
Le Monde reports that, with the French presidential election's first round less than six months away, Emmanuel Macron warns a Marine Le Pen–Jean-Luc Mélenchon second round would be a nightmare scenario the central bloc could face, while Edouard Philippe has fallen in the polls. Macron argues that only a broad coalition rejecting the extremes, running from Raphaël Glucksmann to David Lisnard, could get the central bloc's single candidate through the first round and win a National Assembly majority.
Teddy Riner, lobbyiste du Maroc subventionné par l’émir du Qatar
mediapart.fr· 7y
Mediapart reports that judoka Teddy Riner's top-level connections proved decisive in his 2017 hiring by Paris Saint-Germain, whose judo section it says was created for him after King Mohammed VI of Morocco contacted the Emir of Qatar. It also claims Riner helped his friend Mohammed VI secure the 2017 world championships in Marrakech, where he won his tenth title.
