PARIS − French far-right leader Marine Le Pen was convicted of embezzlement on Monday and handed an immediate five-year ban from public office, a sentence that will bar her from running in the 2027 presidential race unless she successfully appeals beforehand.

Le Pen is barrred from running for public office for five years, with court also handing the far-right leader a four-year prison sentence, with two years suspended and two years’ home detention, and a €100,000 fine.

A court ruling her guilty of fraud for the misuse of European Union funds means the front-runner to replace Emanuelle Macron as French President has been deemed ineligible for public office.