Murder of former rugby player Aramburu in Paris: trial of four defendants opens in September
Four people are appearing from 7 to 25 September in Paris for the death of Federico Martin Aramburu, shot dead in Saint-Germain-des-Prés in March 2022.
Ten shots in 48 seconds: Aramburu trial opens in Paris
Four defendants are appearing before the Paris court of assize from 7 to 25 September for the death of Federico Martin Aramburu, a former Argentine international rugby player shot in the 6th arrondissement on 19 March 2022. Franceinfo traces in detail the events of that night in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, which ended in a brawl, a vehicle chase and ten shots fired in less than 48 seconds.
An evening that spirals at Mabillon bar
It is 4:40 that morning when Loïk Le Priol, 27, and his friend Romain Bouvier, 31, take a seat at Mabillon, a bar on Boulevard Saint-Germain. The two men are supporters of GUD (Groupe union défense), dissolved in June 2024, and have known each other since their years at Assas University. Nearly forty minutes later, Federico Martin Aramburu, 42, French rugby champion twice over in 2005 and 2006, and his former teammate Shaun Hegarty, 38, sit down at an outside table. The two sportsmen, who have already consumed "about ten glasses", plan to watch the France v England match of the Six Nations Championship that evening.
At 5:52, tension rises. According to Shaun Hegarty's testimony, Loïk Le Priol addressed a neighbouring customer in a condescending manner. The rugby player challenges him. The far-right activist's reaction is immediate: he slaps Hegarty repeatedly, forcing the bar's security guard to intervene. "That's not how you treat someone," Hegarty is said to have remarked, according to a witness. "You're going to shut your mouth. Otherwise I'm going to smoke you and I'll go fuck your mother," Le Priol replies.
A concealed weapon, a judicial order violated
That evening, the two men breach their judicial supervision. Involved in a matter of collective violence against Édouard Klein, a former GUD official, they are prohibited from meeting together, from going to Île-de-France and from carrying a weapon. Surveillance camera footage nonetheless shows Loïk Le Priol handling a revolver in the stairs leading to the bar's toilets.
After the verbal altercation, a relative calm settles. At 6 o'clock, Aramburu and Hegarty prepare to leave. But the former champion of Biarritz Olympique suddenly grabs Le Priol's hood, causing him to fall. The fight resumes on both sides of Rue de Buci. Bar staff separate the protagonists.
The two rugby players walk away. Le Priol, held back by the security officer, then announces: "I'm going to kill him." A waiter downplays the threat. Nevertheless, the activist displays to the security guard an armband bearing the "Police" insignia as well as the revolver whose loading he had verified in the toilets. The security guard thinks he is dealing with BAC police officers.
The chase in a green Jeep
Romain Bouvier, furious at seeing the two sportsmen leave, cries out: "Why did you let them go? We wanted to fuck them up!" Bar employees try to calm them down by telling them that Aramburu and Hegarty have taken a taxi. Le Priol does not believe it and rushes onto Boulevard Saint-Germain. He passes without knowing it the two men, who had taken refuge in a neighbouring hotel to ask for ice cubes.
At 6:07, a green Jeep — belonging to Le Priol — approaches Mabillon. At the wheel: Lyson R., 24, Le Priol's partner. Bouvier gets in immediately. "We'll find them," he says. A few hundred metres further on, the vehicle catches up with the two rugby players at the foot of a shoe shop. What follows — ten shots fired in less than 48 seconds — costs Federico Martin Aramburu his life.
Four defendants, distinct charges
Loïk Le Priol is being tried for murder. He invokes self-defence. Romain Bouvier, prosecuted for complicity in attempted murder, claims to have fired only "warning shots towards the ground" — a version that surveillance camera footage contradicts according to the prosecution. Lyson R. appears for complicity in murder on account of her presence and her role in the events. Anthony S., 37, a friend of Bouvier, is accused of harbouring a fugitive and withholding an object intended to obstruct the emergence of the truth.
The trial is to be held until 25 September before the Paris court of assize.
Source: France Info