Murder of Federico Aramburu in Paris: trial opens against two far-right activists
The trial of Loïk Le Priol and Romain Bouvier opened in Paris for the shooting death of former Argentine rugby player Federico Aramburu in March 2022. The family is seeking justice; the accused deny premeditation.
Aramburu family faces accused: opening of murder trial in Paris
According to France Info, proceedings began before the Paris court of assizes in the case of the death of Federico Aramburu, a former Argentine international rugby player shot dead on 19 March 2022. Four years after the incident, those close to him — including his father, who travelled specially from Argentina — faced the two accused: Loïk Le Priol, 27, a former soldier, and Romain Bouvier, 31, both far-right activists, listed on the S-file and already known to judicial authorities.
The victim's widow, who is raising three minor children alone, was present but did not wish to speak publicly. Her lawyer, Yann Le Bras, spoke on her behalf: "What happened that evening and which will be judged by the court of assizes brings her back to the terrible tragedy she is living."
The facts: a dispute on a terrace, gunfire in the street
On 19 March 2022, around 5 o'clock in the morning, Federico Aramburu and a friend sit down on the terrace of a Parisian café. At the neighbouring table are Le Priol and Bouvier. A dispute breaks out, escalating into a brawl. Aramburu and his friend leave the premises. The two men then pursue them in a Jeep and open fire several times. The former rugby player collapses in the arms of his friend Shaun Hegarty, now a civil party to these proceedings.
On 7 September, Hegarty described to the court a scene of deliberate violence: "Those people chased us, they decided to have weapons on them, they decided to take them out, they decided to use them."
Flight and arrest at the Ukrainian border
After the shooting, the two alleged gunmen flee. They are arrested three days later: one in Sarthe, the other at the Ukrainian border. From their arrest onwards, they acknowledge having fired shots, but deny any premeditation.
At the hearing, Loïk Le Priol maintained his line of defence: he claimed to have fired out of fear, not with the intention to kill. He also apologised to the Aramburu family. His lawyer, Hugues Vigier, described the shots as having been fired in "a context which we consider, not as self-defence, but as extreme fear, and which obviously never had the intention to kill".
For the charge brought, Loïk Le Priol faces a life sentence.
Source: France Info