Aramburu murder: 20 and 27 years' imprisonment sought against Le Priol and Bouvier
The prosecution has sought 27 and 20 years' imprisonment against two far-right activists on trial for the assassination of rugby player Federico Aramburu, killed in Paris in March 2022. The verdict is expected on Friday.
Sentencing submissions in Aramburu trial: the "evil duo" faces up to 27 years in prison
France 24 - France reports that advocate general Philippe Courroye sought, on Wednesday 23 September, 27 years' imprisonment for murder against Loïk Le Priol (32 years old) and 20 years for attempted murder against Romain Bouvier (35 years old), before the Paris assize court. The two men are on trial for the death of Federico Martin Aramburu, a former Argentine rugby player shot on 19 March 2022 in the streets of the capital.
Following 3 hours and 40 minutes of closing arguments, Courroye described a "manhunt" orchestrated by what he called an "evil duo". The facts began with an alcohol-fuelled brawl late in the evening on the terrace of the Le Mabillon brasserie, involving Aramburu and his friend Shaun Hegarty, a former teammate and associate in an event management agency. On 19 March 2022, Le Priol fired six times at the defenceless victim.
Throughout the 13 days of hearings, the two defendants maintained they did not "shoot to kill". Denials that did not convince the prosecution. The verdict will be delivered on Friday.
Partial acquittal sought for the girlfriend
The advocate general requested that Lyson Rochemir (29 years old), partner of Loïk Le Priol at the time of the events, be acquitted of complicity in attempted murder. She remains, however, prosecuted for concealment and destruction of evidence and faces three years' imprisonment, as does Antony Sorrentino, who notably helped Romain Bouvier flee.
A forbidden friendship, a violent past
At the heart of the Voltaire courtroom debates: the relationship between the two defendants. Since 2017, Le Priol and Bouvier had no legal right to associate with each other, due to common legal troubles. On the evening of the events, both were subject to judicial supervision for their participation in the beating, in October 2015, of a leader of the Groupe Union Défense (GUD), a radical student organisation dissolved in June 2024. It was within this movement that they had met in the early 2010s.
This assault against Édouard Klein resulted in prison sentences in June 2022: three years for Bouvier, two years for Le Priol — the latter benefiting from a diminished responsibility on account of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) stemming from his military years.
Their criminal record contained other episodes of violence: a few weeks before the assault against Klein, a drink-driving car accident caused by Le Priol had left a young woman in a coma. In February 2015, the two men had already violently assaulted revellers who had got into Le Priol's vehicle upon leaving a nightclub.
Broken trajectories
A decorated member of the special forces, Loïk Le Priol had been struck off the military rolls in 2017, following hospitalisation for psychological disorders and involvement in an assault against an Ethiopian national in Djibouti. Romain Bouvier, for his part, was a student at Panthéon-Assas University and was destined for a career as a lawyer.
During the trial, Bouvier referred to "a strong friendship almost like a brotherly bond" with Le Priol. His former associate, for his part, described this friendship as "toxic" before the same court. In the dock, the two defendants ignored each other, heads lowered, occasionally taking notes.
Far-right commitment and evidence
Psychiatric experts noted, the previous week, the "manifest psychopathic traits" of Loïk Le Priol, his propensity to position himself as a victim and to shirk his responsibilities. During the hearing, he downplayed his involvement in far-right circles and denied all racism — including in the face of images extracted from his telephone, among which were photographs of the "George Floyd Challenge", a challenge popular in white supremacist circles, or a montage representing Marine Le Pen holding a placard with racist content. Le Priol maintained that he belonged to many online groups without endorsing their contents.
A weapons collector, Romain Bouvier also moved within the Parisian far-right movement. He was questioned about the presence in his flat of a 1933 copy of Mein Kampf, books described as "controversial" by the court president, as well as a figurine representing Hitler. Bouvier responded that political books made up "barely even 5 per cent" of his library, specifying that he also held volumes related to the far left.
Regrets and awaiting the verdict
Loïk Le Priol was the first to express remorse to the relatives of Federico Aramburu, father of three children. From the opening of the trial on 7 September, he had declared: "I will never stop asking for forgiveness", after having acknowledged his responsibility in the death of the victim. Many supporters of the family of the former rugby player took their places on the benches of the courtroom throughout the proceedings.
The Paris assize court will deliver its verdict on Friday.
Source: France 24 - France