“I know what it’s like to fight,” declared Teddy Riner, which by itself came as no surprise: France’s multiple Olympic gold-medallist(金牌得主) in judo knows exactly how to throw an opponent to the ground(将对手摔倒在地). But when Mr Riner spoke on November 9th he was referring to high-level sport of a different sort. Seated before a sober(朴素的；严肃的) bookshelf and French tricolore(法国三色旗) flag, he stunned(使震惊) France by saying that he was running for president(竞选总统). Within 48 hours Mr Riner’s declaration on X had been viewed 14m times—more than three times the viewership for Marine Le Pen(法国极右翼政治人物)’s presidential-style address after the recent riots.
“我知道战斗是什么滋味，”泰迪·里内宣称，这话本身并不令人意外：这位法国柔道多枚奥运金牌得主深知如何将对手摔倒在地。但里内11月9日讲话时，指的却是另一种高级别的竞技。他坐在朴素的书架和法国三色旗前，宣布将竞选总统，令法国震惊。48小时内，里内在X平台上的声明观看量达1400万次——是玛丽娜·勒庞在近期骚乱后发表总统式讲话观看量的三倍多。
France has since then been talking about little other than(几乎只有) the bear of a man(魁梧如熊的男人) they affectionately(亲切地) call le grand Teddy. Some asked if the declaration was an AI-generated hoax(恶作剧；骗局) (it is not). A Socialist politician called it a “farce(闹剧)”. Emmanuel Macron said that Mr Riner’s candidacy “can only benefit the country”, prompting some to suspect the president’s hand(怀疑总统插手), if only to stir the race up(搅动选情) ahead of next year’s presidential election.
自那以后，法国人谈论的几乎全是这位被亲切称为“大泰迪”的魁梧汉子。有人问这是否是AI生成的恶作剧（并非如此）。一位社会党政治家称之为“闹剧”。埃马纽埃尔·马克龙表示，里内的参选“只会有益于国家”，这促使一些人怀疑总统在幕后操纵，哪怕只是为了在明年总统选举前搅动选情。
Teddymania(泰迪狂热) partly reflects the flatness(平淡；乏味) at the political centre. The race has been dominated by the extremes: Ms Le Pen on the populist(民粹主义的) right, who is poll favourite to win, and Jean-Luc Mélenchon(法国极左翼政治人物) on the populist-left. Mr Riner pitched himself, in Macronesque(马克龙式的) terms, as “neither right nor left”. “France doesn’t need a professional politician who recites talking points(谈话要点) and spends all day squabbling(争吵),” he said, “It needs common sense, firmness, justice and a government that sets things right(拨乱反正).”
“泰迪狂热”部分反映了政治中间的平淡。选战一直被极端派主导：民调领先的极右翼民粹主义者勒庞，以及极左翼民粹主义者让-吕克·梅朗雄。里内以马克龙式的措辞，将自己定位为“非左非右”。“法国不需要一个背诵谈话要点、整天争吵的职业政客，”他说，“它需要常识、坚定、公正，以及一个能拨乱反正的政府。”