Aramburu murder: 27 years sought against Le Priol, 20 years against Bouvier
The prosecutor sought 27 years imprisonment for Loïk Le Priol and 20 years for Romain Bouvier. The verdict is expected on Friday.
Aramburu trial: heavy sentences sought, life imprisonment still possible
Prosecutor Philippe Courroye sought, on Wednesday 23 September before the Paris court of assizes, 27 years of criminal imprisonment against Loïk Le Priol and 20 years imprisonment against Romain Bouvier, according to France Info. The two accused, respectively prosecuted for murder and attempted murder in the case of the death of Argentine rugby player Federico Martin Aramburu, still face life imprisonment. The verdict is expected on Friday.
The public prosecution did not seek the maximum sentence, but required for each of the two main accused an obligation of social-medical care. The facts date back to the night of 19 March 2022, when an alcohol-fuelled dispute escalated on the terrace of the Mabillon bar in the 6th arrondissement of Paris.
"A murderous mechanism"
To describe the succession of events, Philippe Courroye resorted to a mechanical image. "This case is the unfolding of a murderous mechanism that leads to the irreparable," he declared, comparing this logic "to the four strokes of an engine"—notably in reference to the Jeep that lies at the heart of the criminal case.
Throughout the trial, Loïk Le Priol denied any premeditation, invoking self-defence. The prosecutor firmly refuted this argument. "One must have nerve to argue self-defence in this case," he said, noting that the accused's statements had been "inconsistent" and that there was no imminent danger. Courroye notably ironised about the presence of napkins filled with ice cubes, which Federico Martin Aramburu and his friend Shaun Hegarty had retrieved from a hotel to treat their injuries after an initial brawl. The prosecutor recalled that the former soldier had fired six times, hitting the victim four times.
Post-traumatic stress disorder dismissed
Le Priol's defence had highlighted a post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosed in 2015, which it argued could have impaired the accused's judgement. Philippe Courroye dismissed this argument on the basis of psychiatric expert assessments: "No element allows us to affirm that the syndrome was active at the time of the facts." He added: "The war-traumatised person does not run after the symptoms of war."
Bouvier: intent contested
Romain Bouvier, who fired four shots that hit the victim twice, maintained throughout the hearings that he had neither the intention to kill nor even to injure. The prosecutor downplayed this argument. "He failed [to kill], but we must distinguish the result from the intention," Courroye emphasised. He specified that surveillance footage and conclusions by a forensic pathologist contradict Bouvier's assertion that he deliberately fired at the ground.
On the question of premeditation, Courroye concluded that "the intention to commit murder is evident" for both accused, notably because the rugby players were not armed. He also stressed the criminal records of this "maleficent duo," describing their profile as "markers of dangerousness" to society. The two men had previously been convicted for violence in a group against Édouard Klein, former leader of the GUD, an extreme-right group dissolved by the government in 2024. "If the motive in this case has nothing political or xenophobic about it, the association of these individuals with the GUD is not unrelated to their drift and the facts," the prosecutor declared.
Sentences sought for secondary accused
The public prosecution furthermore requested that Lyson Rochemir, Le Priol's partner at the time of the facts and driver of the Jeep transporting Bouvier that night, not be convicted for complicity in attempted murder. The prosecutor sought three years imprisonment against her, one year of which suspended, for tampering with a crime scene, as well as for concealment, handling stolen goods and disposal of evidence.
For Anthony Sorrentino, three years imprisonment, two years of which suspended, are sought for having concealed evidence and facilitated Romain Bouvier's brief flight after the facts.
Source: France Info