Olympic champion announces his candidacy for French president, Macron says: Welcome

China News Service, November 10. According to comprehensive foreign media reports, French judo legend and five-time Olympic judo champion Teddy Reine announced on social media on the 9th that he will participate in the next French presidential election. Previously, he had expressed concern about the "rise of far-right forces" in France.

According to reports, the athlete made a surprise announcement on social media about his candidacy. He said in the 2 minute and 37 second video: "My name is Teddy Reine, and today I want to tell you face to face that I will participate in the 2027 French presidential election."

In the video, Rinet expressed concern that France could soon fall into deep divisions. Agence France-Presse reported that judging from his speech, he seemed to be trying to position himself outside of the far-right and hard-left political groups to provide voters with an alternative.

The report pointed out that French President Macron welcomed Rinet’s candidacy. He said he was pleased that the "great champion" had decided to "join this presidential election debate and contribute his beliefs, ideas and talents to the benefit of the country."

Rinne said he plans to launch a campaign as soon as possible, which will be funded by donations as well as his own funds.

Rinet, 37 years old, is from the French island of Guadeloupe. He has won the Olympic Games five times and is also the person who has won the most world championships in the history of judo. He is a household name in France.