PARIS, Nov 9 (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday welcomed news that judo champion Teddy Riner, one of France’s best-known sports figures, was running in France’s 2027 presidential election.
• “I am very pleased … that someone like Teddy Riner, who is a great champion, has decided to get involved in this presidential debate and to contribute his convictions, his ideas, and his talent, this can only benefit the country,” Macron told the “C a vous” news show on France 5 television.
• Riner, 37, announced his surprise candidacy on social media earlier on Monday.
• Riner said critics would call him crazy and argue that he is an outsider with no political experience, but he said refusing to accept France’s decline, insecurity and social inequalities was not madness.
• France needs common sense, firmness and justice, as well as a state that can get things done, rather than another career politician, he said.
• Riner, a five-time Olympic champion and 11-time world champion, pledged to work alongside voters and in their interests to rebuild France, rather than govern from above.
(Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout and Dominique Vidalon in Paris; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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