As Loïk Le Priol and his two accomplices are arrested and charged with the murder of former Biarritz Olympique player Federico Martin Aramburu, the puzzle of the night of the drama is gradually being pieced together.
Federico Martin Aramburu, Argentine rugby player and former Biarritz Olympique player was shot dead in Paris on March 19, after a violent altercation. Since then, the turmoil created by this violent death has given way to the investigation and the three main murder suspects have been arrested and charged. Little by little, the details of this extraordinary affair are revealed. Back to the sequence of events.
“If he could, he would have killed him with his fists”
On March 19, 2022, around 5.30 am, Federico Martin Aramburu, accompanied by his friends, concluded an evening of celebration in the bar “le Mabillon”. The establishment is located on boulevard Saint-Germain, in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, not far from the famous “rue de la soif”, the other name of rue Princesse. Aramburu then had one last drink with his good friend, Shaun Hegarty, also a former Biarritz Olympique player.
At the same time, Loïk Le Priol, a far-right figure, shares a table in the same establishment with a group of activists. I think Yann Le Bras, the lawyer of the Aramburu family quoted by South West, a young man then asks a group of far-right youth for a cigarette. Loïk Le Priol and his friends refuse “in a somewhat vengeful (…) even humiliating way. Federico Martin Aramburu and Shaun Hegarty immediately remind the group that “you shouldn’t talk to people like that”.
From this simple remark arises a brawl of rare violence. Loïk Le Priol attacks Aramburu, beats him and insults him. The altercation is so loud that many bar neighbors, awakened by the screams, view the scene from their windows. According to a witness, Aramburu was thrown to the ground and suffered an attack of violence. “It is so violent, determined (…) if he could have killed him with his fists, he would have killed him with his fists,” he says in the columns of The team† Though separated by bar security, Loïck Le Priol tirelessly continues to insult the player and scream insanity, including a very audible “Your mother the p***!”
Five bullets in the body
After this attack, Aramburu and Hegarty decide to leave the bar and walk back to the hotel where they are staying. The two men walk for a few minutes on Boulevard Saint-Germain. At around 6.15 am, at the intersection of rue de Seine and boulevard Saint-Germain, a green jeep overtakes them. The windows roll down, shots are fired. A total of six balls. Five hit Federico Aramburu, who collapses. The Jeep starts again with a bang.
Despite attempts at resuscitation, the Argentine rugby player died of his injuries, along with his friend Hegarty, who suffered more minor injuries. A murder investigation is immediately opened by the criminal brigade.
The site of the murder of Federico Martin Aramburu, boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris.
Three people are then wanted: two men, who were the authors of the shots, and a woman who was driving the jeep at the time of the incident. Police soon identify Loïk Le Priol, who is unfavorably known to police as a former far-right activist with ultra-violent behaviour.
The hunt has begun
On March 19, when Arramburu was murdered that same morning, a 24-year-old woman was arrested and taken into custody at the end of the day. This is Loïk Le Priol’s girlfriend. The young woman is suspected of being the driver of the vehicle in which the gunmen were transported. She denies any involvement of her companion in the case.
At the same time, the hunt for the suspected killer and his accomplice intensifies. The latest would be Romain Bouvier, another far-right activist. The media has seized the case, Loïk Le Priol’s face is everywhere. France discovers the identity of a dangerous man already involved in investigations into acts of violence.
His portrait is overwhelming: the 27-year-old man is a former Marine commando, an active member of the GUD (Union Defense Group), already known in numerous violent cases related to his radicalism, which earned him an S in the DGSI (General Directorate of Homeland Security).
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Murder of Federico Martin Aramburu: army, GUD, ultra-violence… who is Loïk Le Priol, the prime suspect arrested on Wednesday?
According to an article by Street pressThe man, a white supremacist, is a “weapon form” with a charged criminal record, placed under judicial supervision since 2015 after participating in the attack on Edouard Klein, a violently beaten former GUD leader and tortured. Due to this case of extreme violence, he was not allowed to appear in Paris and come into contact with Romain Bouvier. A European arrest warrant is then issued against him.
Arrest in Hungary
On the night of March 22-23, when Loïk Le Priol was trying to reach Ukraine, he was arrested in Hungary, at the Zahony border post. Repatriated to France, he was charged on March 25 with “murder and possession of weapons”. Me Xavier Nogueras, Le Priol’s lawyer, asks that the court decision be discussed behind closed doors because of “the explicit death threats from in particular people who claim to be from the Basque community, the far left and ‘ultra left’.
Loïk le Priol is arrested in Hungary.
The day after this indictment, March 26, Federico Martin Aramburu was buried in Biarritz. The ceremony, broadcast on a screen in front of Sainte-Eugénie Church, brought together more than a thousand people. The rugby player’s former teammates carry his coffin in front of an animated crowd. On this occasion, the flag of Argentina is hoisted on the facade of the City Hall.
Federico Aramburu’s funeral will take place on March 26 in Biarritz.
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VIDEOS. Murder of Federico Martin Aramburu: Hundreds of people paid their last respects to the ex-rugby player in Biarritz
During his interrogation in court, Le Priol acknowledged the murder as “a tragedy”, according to his lawyer. He will be placed in custody on April 1. Romain Bouvier is also sued on the same charges and imprisoned in La Santé prison in Paris. The young woman, meanwhile, was charged with “complicity in murder”.
