Lex Paulson: Teddy Riner embodies appetite for an alternative to Le Pen and Mélenchon
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on France 24
According to Lex Paulson, a professor at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, judoka Teddy Riner’s candidacy in the French presidential election reflects a thirst for an alternative to the established parties. Speaking to France 24, he says Riner’s fame is an asset, but that visibility alone is not enough to give political credibility.
For Lex Paulson, professor and director of executive programmes at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Morocco, the possible candidacy of Teddy Riner, the French Olympic judo champion, benefits first of all from his ability to attract attention in a fragmented media landscape. In his analysis for France 24, however, he says the judoka’s fame is not enough to establish his credibility as a candidate for the French presidency: Riner must still present a sufficiently developed political vision.
Lex Paulson sees Teddy Riner’s emergence as a sign of a broader demand for figures who can give voters a sense of identification, while traditional parties struggle to mobilise. According to him, some citizens regard professional politicians as a distant ruling class that pays more attention to voters during election periods. He thus links the champion’s potential candidacy to a more general crisis of democratic representation in France, rather than to a mere celebrity phenomenon.
