France’s constitutional court on Friday ruled local politicians can be barred from office immediately if convicted of a crime, leaving the door open for far-right leader Marine Le Pen to potentially be barred from the 2027 presidential race in an embezzlement trial concluding on Monday.
It’s not “instead of”, it’s “in addition to”. And it’s not “at least” 5 years of prison either, it could end up being less than what the prosecution asked for.