Judo star and presidential hopeful Riner calls Macron

France's judo champion turned presidential candidate Teddy Riner on Saturday sought to distance himself from President Emmanuel Macron, calling the head of state's rare endorsement a "poisoned chalice".

The centrist president said on Monday that Riner joining the 2027 election race could "only benefit the country" after the popular judoka announced he was running.

"I'm not the president's envoy," said the 37-year-old, who has won five Olympic gold medals.

"If I had to describe the president's congratulations, it would be more like a poisoned chalice," he added as he visited a trade fair of products made in France.

Riner said in his announcement on Monday he feared France could soon become deeply divided. He appeared to cast himself as a candidate for voters unwilling to choose between two political extremes — the far right and the hard left.

The sportsman from the French overseas territory of Guadeloupe has said he is neither from the left nor the right, but some have accused him of seeking to follow in Macron's footsteps.

Macron's popularity is the lowest it has ever been since he first became president in 2017, according to recent polls, as nationwide protests rock the country. Teddy Riner visited a trade fair of products made in France Saturday as part of his campaign.

Opinion polls project far-right candidate Marine Le Pen as winning the first round of next year's vote, with hard-left hopeful Jean-Luc Melenchon qualifying to face off against her in a second round.

The centre-right has struggled to produce a single candidate with a decent shot at the top job. Former prime minister Edouard Philippe has slipped from second to third place in surveys in recent months.

Riner has hinted in an interview with Le Parisien newspaper that he would be in favour of a pension reform and a reduction in social security contributions, which could appeal to voters on the centre-right.

But he has also deplored that "a young person's future can be shattered just because they don't have the right connections, the right name or the right skin colour," which could attract leftists.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)