Teddy Riner supports the high school movement while condemning the violence

Teddy Riner takes a stand again. A few days after expressing "his anguish" about a victory for Marine Le Pen in 2027, which earned him numerous hate messages online, the judoka, five-time Olympic champion, spoke again on his social networks.

On Saturday October 3, he supported the high school students' movement, which began on September 17 at the Saint-Exupéry high school in Créteil (Val-de-Marne), before spreading nationally and igniting in recent days in many cities in France, where nearly 400 high schools (out of the 3,700 in the country) were closed on Friday as a security measure.

Teddy Riner first denounced the violence which accompanied the high school movement, before defending the demands of the demonstrators. “A high school that burns puts lives in danger. These are students who lose their classroom, their workshop, a place where they prepare for their future. No anger justifies this. Those responsible must be identified and punished. But I refuse to put an entire generation on trial,” he then clarified.

“A few weeks ago, in a vocational high school, I met young people who are working hard to learn a profession. They want to succeed. They deserve to be encouraged and protected for their efforts. I think of them. I also think of the teachers and staff who accompany them every day, and who must be able to work without being afraid,” the judoka wrote again.

“Listening to the difficulties of young people, yes. Let violence decide whether they can go to class, never. I believe in this youth. And I want a young person who walks through the door of his high school to be able to think about his future, not his safety.”