Teddy Riner announces a run for French president, pledging to bring people together

French judo star Teddy Riner is bidding for president.

The 37-year-old multiple Olympic champion announced his bid on social media and said in an interview with Le Parisien newspaper published Monday that he is positioning himself as “neither right-wing nor left-wing” and hopes to become a “president who brings people together.”

Asked whether his bid should be taken seriously, Riner said “what would be irresponsible would be to remain silent and stand by as a spectator to what is happening in our country, and what has been happening for several years now.”

The French presidential election is being held next year.

Protest marches have been drawing huge crowds for weeks in Paris and elsewhere across France as demonstrators demand higher wages and back the country’s student protest movement, piling fresh pressure on the beleaguered government.

Riner said he is aware of the social tensions running through the country and that he can’t accept young people and older generations saying they are struggling to imagine a future for themselves.

“I hear the anger, which some people echo in their rhetoric with a great deal of negativity, coming from people who no longer have any ambition or the desire to think big,” Riner said. “Yet France is a great country. It has allowed me to become the person I am today and given me the opportunity to dream big. Today, that is precisely what is missing. There is no longer that ambition, no longer that hope.”

Riner said in September that wants to end his stellar career with a fourth individual Olympic gold medal at the Los Angeles Games in 2028. Asked by Le Parisien if his presidential bid means he is giving up on the Olympics, the 2.04-meter (6-foot-8) heavyweight said no.

“Not if my duties as president allow it and the French people give me their blessing,” the 11-time world champion said.

French authorities in September said they investigated online racial abuse aimed at Riner after he expressed concern about the rise of the far right. In an interview with French sports television show Stade 2, Riner said he was “freaked out” by the rise of extremism. Asked if he meant “on both sides” — meaning the far left and far right — Riner replied “the far right.”

According to polls, the nationalist Marine Le Pen is the front-runner ahead of hard-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

“The country is experiencing deep divisions right now, let’s not kid ourselves,” Riner said. “And in the face of that, I don’t see a single candidate putting forward a credible and fair vision capable of bringing the French people together rather than dividing them. There is no one today offering genuine, sincere hope. It’s always one side against another. I’m running for president to show that we can get France back on its feet. We are capable of achieving great things together.”

Asked about what would be his first initiative on the international stage if he is elected, Riner said he wants to make sure France works well with its allies and commands greater respect.

“A lot of people around me have been talking about my first handshake with Donald Trump,” he said, laughing. “We’ll see who has the firmer handshake.”

Samuel Petrequin, The Associated Press