Europeupdated 21m ago2 min read
Teddy Riner Announces Bid for France’s 2027 Presidential Election, Says He Will Bring People Together
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Teddy Riner announced his candidacy for France's 2027 presidential election. He portrays himself as neither left nor right and aims to unite voters.
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Riner enters 2027 race
Teddy Riner said on Monday that he will run in France's 2027 presidential election as a candidate neither left nor right, and he framed his bid as a way to "bring people together". Riner made the announcement in a video on social media and in an interview with the newspaper Le Parisien, and he said he wants to be a "president who unites the people".
Emmanuel Macron welcomed Riner's entrance into the presidential race, telling the C a vous news show on France 5 television that he was "very pleased" that Riner had decided to get involved in the presidential debate. Riner also said he still intends to compete in the 2028 Los Angeles Games, adding that he would not give up the Olympics "not if my duties as president allow it and the French people give me their blessing".
Signatures and political stakes
French law requires Riner to collect 500 sponsorship signatures from elected officials, and the candidate said he knows people will call him "crazy" because he is "not from the establishment" and has "never done politics".
Riner told Le Parisien that "There is no one today offering genuine, sincere hope. It's always one side against another," and he said he is running to show that France can be put "back on its feet".
Euronews said Riner described himself as a candidate of "unity" who sought to "unite" the left and right, while the Guardian said polls point to a hollowing out of the political centre with National Rally leader Marine Le Pen as the front-runner.
Riner also said he wanted France to work well with its allies and command more respect, and he joked about his first handshake with Donald Trump, saying "We'll see who has the firmer handshake."
Macron, Le Pen, and divisions
Macron's remarks positioned Riner as someone who could contribute "convictions, his ideas and his talent," while Riner said he is worried about the "rise of the far right" in France. Riner said he was "freaked out" by the rise of extremism on French sports television show Stade 2, and he replied "the far right" when asked whether he meant both sides.
Euronews reported that Marine Le Pen was leading the polls with 36% in an IFOP poll for broadcaster LCI conducted from 27 to 29 October, and it said Jean-Luc Mélenchon had an estimated 17.6% of voting intentions. The Guardian said Riner described the country as experiencing "deep divisions right now" and said he did not see a single candidate offering a credible and fair vision capable of bringing French people together rather than dividing them.