The trial of Loik Le Priol opened Monday before the Paris assizes, where he faces murder charges for the shooting of rugby player Federico Martín Aramburú on 19 March 2022.
Night at Le Mabillon
Police arrived before dawn to find Aramburú lying unconscious with a gunshot wound near the Odéon metro, his companion Shaun Hegarty in shock.
Earlier that night, at the Le Mabillon bar in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Le Priol pulled up in a jeep, joined by Romain Bouvier and, ten minutes later, his partner Lyson Rochemir.
Le Priol, a former marine special-forces operator, had been medically discharged after a severe post-traumatic episode in Mali, leaving him with a 60% disability rating. He later ran an olive farm and event business.
Bouvier, a law graduate with a communications start-up, lived a few hundred metres from the bar. Rochemir, a dietetics student, resided in Paris’s 16th arrondissement. All three were linked to the now-dissolved ultra-right group GUD.
Aramburú, Argentine-born but a two-time French champion with Biarritz Olympique, was in town with former teammate Hegarty to watch the France-England Six Nations match.
As the night wore on, a drunken patron bothered Rochemir. Le Priol asked the individual to leave six times. Shaun Hegarty later called Le Priol “a con,” and Le Priol tapped his cheek three times before a server intervened.
At 5:59 a.m., Hegarty stepped outside for a cigarette. Aramburú followed, passing behind Le Priol, who struck his hood and fell. A brief brawl erupted on the sidewalk; Bouvier tried to intervene.
The two rugby players fled to a nearby hotel, seeking ice for their injuries. Meanwhile, Le Priol chased them along boulevard Saint-Germain, refusing to let the encounter end.
Bouvier and Rochemir drove to the scene, and Bouvier allegedly brandished a .22-calibre rifle, firing four rounds toward the ground. An expert later linked one of those shots to a thigh wound on the victim.
Hearing the gunfire, Le Priol returned, drew a Colt 1890 he kept at his belt, and fired six times. Four bullets struck Aramburú, including two to the chest and two to the back.
The autopsy recorded two chest wounds, two back wounds, one abdominal wound and one thigh wound. Death was pronounced at 6:48 a.m.
Legal Proceedings
Prosecutors argue the shooting was premeditated, noting Le Priol checked his weapon earlier that night and pursued the victims despite being outmatched.
The defense cites a “tunnel effect” from Le Priol’s PTSD, claiming the fire was an instinctive reaction under extreme stress.
Video footage of the clash exists but is grainy, leaving key moments open to interpretation. The court will decide whether the force used was disproportionate.
Both Le Priol and Bouvier face murder and attempted murder charges, while Rochemir is accused of complicity. A fourth suspect, who helped Bouvier dispose of the rifle, faces a three-year term. All three primary defendants could receive life sentences.
Trial hearings are slated to continue until 25 September, with the prosecution maintaining that each defendant played a distinct role in the fatal sequence.
While the political ties of the accused have colored early media coverage, the court’s focus remains on the factual chain of events and whether the defendants acted with intent or in self-defence. The outcome will hinge on how convincingly the “tunnel effect” argument can be linked to the lethal shots.
Arrests and Evidence
Rochemir was detained the evening of the shooting and placed in pre-trial custody. Bouvier fled, later turning himself in on 23 March after a week on the run; police found weapons, classic literature and a copy of Mein Kampf in his home.
Le Priol crossed into Hungary before being caught at the border on 23 March. He appeared before a judge on 1 April, claiming he surrendered after learning of Rochemir’s detention.
Le Priol’s Colt, classified as a category D firearm, is legal to own and was not the basis for a weapons charge. Bouvier’s rifle, however, falls under prohibited categories B and C, leading to an additional firearms offense.
The court will also examine whether the defendants’ prior convictions for violent incidents in 2015 influence the assessment of premeditation.
With the evidence laid out, the Paris assizes will determine if the shooting was a tragic escalation of a drunken brawl or a calculated act of retaliation.
