Five-time Olympic champion and 11-time world heavyweight judo champion Teddy Riner has launched a surprise bid for next April’s French presidential election, positioning himself as an outsider seeking to unite a politically divided country.

The 37-year-old Guadeloupe-born athlete has no experience in public office, formal backing from a political party or detailed manifesto. He launched his campaign under the slogan “La France qu’on aime” (The France we love), using social media broadcasts and a visit to a hospital in Seine-Saint-Denis to introduce his candidacy, says the BBC.

Riner’s campaign video, filmed against a backdrop of books and a French flag, has attracted more than 28 million views across social media platforms, including 14.5 million on Instagram alone. An immediate Ifop poll found that 22% of respondents said they “could” vote for him.

Building his campaign around an anti-establishment message, Riner has repeatedly emphasised that he is not a career politician.

“Don’t Worry! I’m NOT a Politician!” he said.

Describing himself as “neither left, nor right”, Riner said he wanted to “unite the country” and “put money back in people’s pockets”. He has also criticised both “racists” and “yobs who scare people off our streets”.

In his campaign launch video, Riner addressed criticism over his lack of political experience.

“People say I am a fool for wanting to run for the presidency. Am I a fool? Well, if refusing to see France sink under the weight of debt; refusing to see mothers and fathers grit their teeth every time they do their weekly shop, and tremble with fear when their kids go out on the street… if all that means being a fool, then yes call me a fool.”

Political analyst Guillaume Tabard of Le Figaro said Riner’s outsider status did not necessarily rule him out as a presidential contender, but warned that it would not be enough on its own.

“Anyone who thinks that being out of the political in-crowd disqualifies Riner from running for the Élysée would be very wrong… But [Riner] too would be wrong if he thinks not belonging to the in-crowd is all it takes.”

Riner’s entry into the race comes amid fragmentation in the French political centre, with hard-right leader Marine Le Pen and hard-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon currently leading polls ahead of the final runoff.

Mélenchon welcomed the prospect of further competition for centrist voters, while expressing scepticism about Riner’s claim to stand outside traditional political divisions.

“We know how it goes: neither right nor left means not left”, he said.

President Emmanuel Macron praised Riner as a “great champion”, saying politics “did not belong to the professionals”.

Riner, however, sought to distance himself from the president and his political camp, describing Macron’s praise as a “poisoned chalice”.

“I’m not the president’s envoy, I’m not a Macronist”, he said.

On policy, Riner appears broadly right-leaning on fiscal issues and law enforcement. However, he has also taken a strong stance against racism, drawing on his background as a Black athlete of Caribbean origin, and has directed his anti-extremism rhetoric towards Le Pen.

The political centre is already crowded, with around a dozen potential candidates, including former prime ministers Édouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal, Bruno Retailleau, Raphaël Glucksmann and potentially European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde.

Riner’s candidacy could further divide the centrist electorate.

To turn his public profile into a viable political campaign, he will need to build a team and set out concrete positions on major national issues, including public debt, the cost of living, education investment, pension reform and foreign policy, including Russia’s war in Ukraine.