The addition of yet another contender will dilute their polling numbers even further, making a second-round qualification for Mélenchon more likely.
So no wonder the leader of France Unbowed (LFI) seemed so happy about Riner’s decision to run. “We know how it goes: neither right nor left means not left,” Mélenchon told reporters on Friday.
The only other politician who seems genuinely pleased, rather than putting on a fixed smile, is President Emmanuel Macron, who said Riner was a “great champion” and that politics “did not belong to the professionals”.
That could be explained by the president’s cool relations with his former prime ministers, Philippe and Attal, both of whom are doing all they can to distance themselves from their unpopular one-time boss.
Riner said he viewed Macron’s praise as a “poisoned chalice”, telling reporters on Saturday that he was “not the president’s envoy, I’m not a Macronist”.
Politics and judo have very little in common, but of the two, as Riner will soon discover, the more vicious is not the one that is fought out hand-to-hand after mutual acknowledgement on the tatami mat.
In Japanese, judo actually means “the gentle way”.
If he starts looking like a serious candidate, Riner must know his life will be turned upside down, not just his physical form.
In politics you do not bow in respect to your opponent. You give him a metaphorical headbutt.