Judo champion Teddy Riner has entered France’s 2027 presidential race.
The judo champion joins the race to succeed Emmanuel Macron as centrists fear a runoff between Marine Le Pen and Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
Judo champion Teddy Riner has entered the France presidential election, as centrists search for alternatives to leading far-right and far-left contenders. The 37-year-old announced his candidacy this week ahead of the 2027 vote to replace President Emmanuel Macron.
Riner ranks among France’s most popular athletes, but he remains unlikely to win the presidency. His entry nevertheless reflects a wider appetite for a fresh candidate roughly five months before polling.
Meanwhile, Marine Le Pen has maintained a commanding polling lead over her rivals for months. Weeks of protests, including violence, have strengthened her position while shaking France.
France presidential election raises centrist runoff fears
Former prime minister Édouard Philippe, the most prominent centre-right contender, has lost ground in the polls. The unrest has sharpened both far-right demands for law and order and left-wing calls for social justice.
Far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon has also benefited from the upheaval. He now appears the likeliest contender to face Le Pen in the second round of France’s two-round election.
That prospect worries centrist voters, said Jean-Daniel Lévy, deputy director of polling firm Toluna France. He described them as an “orphan electorate” still searching for an inspiring candidate.
Similarly, Raphaël LLorca, an analyst at the left-leaning Jean-Jaurès Foundation in Paris, characterised the search as evidence of centrist panic. In his assessment, the bloc increasingly risks losing its grip on the presidential contest.
