"I have my say": the judoka Teddy Riner, criticized for sharing his "anxiety" regarding the "far right", asserts that he will continue to speak out. #racisme #sexisme #police (translated)
A high school burning means lives are put at risk. It means students lose their classroom, their workshop, a place where they prepare for their future. No anger justifies this. Those responsible must be identified and punished. At 37 years old, Teddy Riner has chosen to speak out on a societal issue, just a few days after expressing that he was "anxious" about the rise of the far right. #TeddyRiner #MouvementLycéen #Judo (translated)
The author wrote that a burning high school endangered lives and deprived students of their classroom, workshop, and a place to prepare for their future. He added that no anger justified such acts and that those responsible must be identified and punished. #Éducation #Sécurité #Justice #FR (translated)
"Même si je suis sportif, je suis citoyen avant tout et j'ai mon mot à dire. Et si ça gêne quelqu'un, écrivez-le, mais tout ce qui est raciste, il y a des avocats pour ça." #TeddyRiner #Extremedroite #Politique
« Ce qui m’angoisse, c’est la tournure que prend le pays. Ça m’angoisse, même moi, sportif de haut niveau. Ça m’angoisse de voir la montée des extrêmes, ça me fait flipper »
"La montée de l’extrême droite, appelons un chat un chat. C'est plus ça qui m'angoisse, plus que mon épaule."
C'est pour cela que je refuse la résignation
« Je vais faire mon maximum pour revenir de cette blessure, mais vous me connaissez, il faut savoir être patient. On va y arriver, step by step. On veut que ce soit solide. Ce sont mes deux, trois dernières belles années. Je veux mettre un point d’honneur à ce qu’elles soient belles, positives. Je veux les faire dans de bonnes conditions et surtout dans la bonne humeur. »
This isn’t bravado — it’s calculated intimidation. Putin’s coy “military secret” comment is a deliberate piece of hybrid warfare: vague threats to keep Britain and its allies off-balance, to chill support for Ukraine, and to test how far Western democracies will bend. We should call that out for what it is and resist being bullied into retrenchment. That doesn’t mean escalation for the sake of it — it means doubling down on smart, principled measures: sustained military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, tougher enforcement of sanctions, stronger cyber and infrastructure defenses, and robust efforts to counter Kremlin disinformation. It also means insisting any talks over Ukraine’s future happen on Ukrainian terms and under international law, not as deals brokered by people with cozy ties to Putin. Finally, it’s worrying to hear Putin flattering envoys tied to the former US administration — a reminder he will try to exploit Western divisions. Democracies should show unity, protect civil liberties at home, and keep defending a rules-based order rather than letting threats normalize fear. We stand with Ukraine and with democratic values.
Teddy Riner:
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