“I tell you looking directly into your eyes: I am a candidate for the 2027 presidential elections.” Teddy Riner, Olympic judo champion, a black man weighing 145 kilograms and 2.04 meters tall whom the French have become accustomed to seeing subduing other men on a tatami, thus announced his candidacy for the French presidential elections this Monday. It seemed like a joke, just another one, in a pre-campaign flooded with political figures who, until now, have been free to proclaim themselves candidates: looking in the eyes or at the ground. But Riner is serious. And then he received the unexpected support of several candidates and the President of the Republic himself, Emmanuel Macron. "I am very happy (...) that someone like Teddy Riner, who is a great champion, decides to get involved in this presidential debate and contribute his convictions, his ideas and his talent. That can only benefit the country," he said against all odds.
The judoka, whose sporting achievements are extraordinary (five Olympic gold medals), appears in the video dressed in a blue suit and white shirt, sitting behind a desk. A library and the French flag, located behind him, complete the entire visual still life typical of an institutional political discourse. The athlete, born in Guadeloupe, gives the impression of knowing the populist manual and assures that he is “neither on the right nor on the left.” “I observe the social fracture that the country is going through, but what I do not accept is hearing young people, as well as older people, say that today it is difficult to imagine a future,” he analyzes sitting at that desk.
Riner is the favorite athlete of the French, ahead of footballer Kylian Mbappé, according to an Odoxa survey. He enjoys a popularity forged on millions of keys with the kimono that would make more than one member of the political class pale with envy and projects an image of security - who better than a martial arts expert to protect the nation in turbulent times - that captivates many. But what real chances does his candidacy for the presidential elections have? Can the Olympic champion transform his popularity and notoriety into voting intention?
Nobody knows right now. There are no polls (those prior to his self-proclamation speak of 4% voting intention). But, just in case, there hasn't been a single joke about it. Former French Prime Minister and candidate Édouard Philippe, in full downward momentum in the polls, praised him shortly after learning of his intentions. “He is a great French champion and an exceptional athlete.” Furthermore, he considered that the topics that Riner has placed at the center of his speech coincide with his own convictions. “I am sure that he has started his campaign (...) talking about work, effort and authority,” he stated. “I think these are issues that I identify with and that many French men and women also agree on,” he added, perhaps thinking about the possibility of recruiting him if necessary.
Philippe also believes that “no candidate has more legitimacy than another to run in a presidential election.” Something similar to what the 39 men and women who have already made their position official or the 13 who are presumed to be able to do so in the coming weeks must think, according to the inventory compiled daily by the website presitracker2027.com.
In addition to the far-right Marine Le Pen, the leftist Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the environmentalist Marine Tondelier or the social democrat Raphaël Glucksmann, the large inventory includes names such as the mayor of Saint-Ouen, Karim Bouamrane; the emerging mayor of Cannes, David Lisnard; Republican Bruno Retailleau; the supremacist Éric Zemmour; the former prime minister Gabriel Attal or the communist Fabien Roussel. Thus, until completing the 39 names that will only be real candidates if they manage to gather 500 signatures from elected officials before March 12, 2027 at 6:00 p.m.
Many candidates only seek notoriety with their ads. Some intend to be part of some type of alliance that gives them a relevant position in exchange for withdrawing and supporting another name. Others, like the center-right spectrum in which a new figure emerges every day - Philippe, Attal, Lisner or Retailleau are now competing for the same space - hope that primaries will dilute the magma of candidates. Or, in the worst case, polls that severely hit their hopes back in December, when the outlook generally becomes clearer.
Riner wants it all. The judoka would like to combine a hypothetical presidency of the Republic with a final participation in the 2028 Olympic Games. And, for now, he is not alone in the challenge. François Braun, Minister of Health in 2022 and 2023, has announced his support for the athlete. "He represents civil society, he stands outside political parties, and that means a lot. Because of his desire to unite the French without confronting them, because of his need to get out of the narrow margins of partisan politics and also because of the personal values that he represents, he constitutes an interesting alternative," he said, opening a new political path in this pre-campaign: the exhaustion of the political class and the search for a candidate who has nothing to do with the recent history of France.
Reality, however, continues to be stubborn in the polls and on the street. And the proliferation of possible candidates only divides the vote in the central space and further polarizes the expectations of reaching the second round, which will be held on May 2, 2027. Right now only two names remain solid or grow: the far-right Marine Le Pen, and the extreme left of Mélenchon (La France Insoumise). Both live outside of hypotheses and personal calculation. The second, in addition, has regained momentum thanks to the student protests in recent weeks and is now consolidating himself as the second candidate with the highest voting intention.
