Judo King Teddy Riner Joins Fight for French Presidency

France's five-time Olympic judo champion Teddy Riner announced on Monday he would run in next year's presidential election, after expressing concern about the "rise of the far right".

"My name is Teddy Riner and today, I am telling you face to face: I am a candidate in the 2027 presidential election," the 37-year-old said in a surprise announcement on social media.

Riner, one of the greatest judokas in history, said in the two-minute-37-second video that he feared France could soon become deeply



divided, appearing to cast himself as a candidate for voters unwilling to choose between two political extremes -- the far right and the hard left.

Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen is leading in the polls to replace centrist President Emmanuel Macron next year, with hard-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon in second place.

"Today we live alongside one another," said Riner, who comes from the French overseas territory of Guadeloupe. "I fear that tomorrow we'll be living in confrontation."