Teddy Riner, the French champion with five Olympic gold medals and eleven world titles, comments on the mobilization of high school students in France: “No amount of anger justifies such a thing. Those responsible must be identified and punished”

Teddy Riner, a multiple Olympic and world judo champion, reacted on the X platform to the mobilization of high school students in France, amid the protests taking place this week in several cities across the country. The champion condemned the acts of violence recorded outside high schools throughout almost all of France, calling for those responsible to be held accountable for their actions.

“A few weeks ago, at a vocational high school, I met young people who are working hard to learn a trade. They want to succeed. They deserve to be encouraged, and their efforts deserve to be protected. I am thinking of them. I am also thinking of the teachers and staff who support them every day and who must be able to work without fear. Let us listen to young people’s difficulties, yes. Letting violence decide whether they can attend classes, never.

I believe in this generation. And I want a young person crossing the threshold of high school to be able to think about their future, not their safety,” Teddy Riner wrote in a post on X.

The judoka has five Olympic gold medals and eleven world titles, making him one of the best-known figures in French sport.

On Friday, law enforcement clashed again with high school students during demonstrations organized against classroom conditions and the underfunding of the education system. The protests have become increasingly tense, and the authorities are trying to prevent the escalation of violence.