‘I know what it’s like to fight’- France’s most popular sportsman says he’s running for president

The French judo star and five-times Olympic gold medallist Teddy Riner has announced plans to run in next year's presidential election, describing himself as someone neither leftwing nor rightwing but who would seek to "bring people together".

With more than five months before the April-May ballot to replace Emmanuel Macron, the race has been shaping up to be a showdown between political extremes. Polls point to a hollowing out of the political centre, suggesting that the anti-immigrant National Rally leader Marine Le Pen could be the frontrunner, with the radical-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon trailing behind.

Riner joins a crowded field of candidates, with analysts describing him as a long shot, given his lack of experience and no party backing.

On Monday, he sought to position himself as someone who would unite people and bring "common sense, steadfastness, justice" to France.

"I know what people are going to say about me: 'He's crazy. He's not from the establishment. He doesn't have the codes. He's never done politics,'" Riner said in a video posted on social media.

He listed the issues facing the country, from soaring debt to the rising cost of groceries and the precarious futures faced by those who don't have the right network, family name or skin colour. "If refusing to bow my head and refusing the chaos makes me crazy, then yes, I'm completely crazy," he said.

The announcement comes about six weeks after Riner, who has often been voted France's most popular sportsperson, faced a wave of racist abuse and online harassment after telling a TV sports show he felt "anxiety" about the rise of the far right in France.

It also comes as the country has been rocked by protests over the cost of living, heightening the ongoing protests by schoolchildren over crumbling and crowded classrooms.

Riner, 37, who was born in the French Caribbean territory of Guadeloupe and grew up in Paris, cited his years of throwing and pinning down judo opponents to make the case for being elected president. "Fighting has always been part of me. I know what it's like to fight, fall and always get up," he said. "France does not need a professional politician who recites lessons and quarrels all day long."

In an interview with the newspaper Le Parisien published on Monday, he described his views as neither rightwing nor leftwing.

Instead Riner, one of France's most recognisable and popular athletes, pointed to broader issues. "The country is experiencing deep divisions right now, let's not kid ourselves," he said. "And in the face of that, I don't see a single candidate putting forward a credible and fair vision capable of bringing French people together rather than dividing them. There is no one today offering genuine, sincere hope. It's always one side against another."

As Riner prepared to attempt to gather 500 sponsorship signatures from elected officials, as required by French law, he said some of his motivation to run came from those young and old who were finding it difficult to envision a future for themselves.

"I hear the anger, which some people echo in their rhetoric with a great deal of negativity, coming from people who no longer have any ambition or the desire to think big," he said. "Yet France is a great country. It allowed me to become the person I am today and gave me the opportunity to dream big. Today, that is precisely what is missing. There is no longer that ambition, no longer that hope."

If elected, he said he was hoping to strike a balance between both careers so he would be able to compete in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

He wouldn't be the first judoka to embrace French politics: David Douillet was elected to the French parliament in 2009, years after his retirement from judo, later serving as the sports minister from September 2011 to May 2012.

Dani Podgoretskaya, an analyst at Eurasia Group, said there was little chance Riner would be seen as a serious contender.

"The French take the presidential election very seriously, given how much power the office holds. He has no experience in elected office, no party and no detailed programme yet," she told Agence France-Presse. "While I still find it possible that we may yet see a providential figure emerge who unites the anti-populist vote, I doubt that Riner is that figure."

When asked about his priorities on the world stage, Riner seized on the moment to crack a joke about potentially meeting the US president. "A lot of people around me have been talking about my first handshake with Donald Trump," he said. With a laugh, he added: "We'll see who has the firmer handshake."