Verdicts were expected Friday in the trial of four people, including two men linked with France’s extreme right, over the killing of former Argentina rugby player Federico Martín Aramburú.
The 42‑year‑old Aramburú, who earned 22 caps for Argentina, was killed in March 2022 while leaving a bar in Paris with his friend Shaun Hegarty, an ex‑New Zealand rugby player. The two had travelled to the capital to attend a Six Nations Championship match after playing together at Biarritz.
On Wednesday, Advocate General Philippe Courroye requested a 27‑year prison sentence for Loïk Le Priol, who fired the fatal shots, and 20 years for Romain Bouvier, who shot the rugby player twice without killing him. Le Priol, 32, faces a murder charge, while Bouvier, 35, is charged with attempted murder.
According to an investigation, the rugby players had earlier sat at a table in a bar in Paris’s Latin Quarter next to a table occupied by far‑right activists, including Le Priol and Bouvier. An argument escalated into a fight, after which Le Priol and Bouvier pursued the rugby players in a Jeep driven by Le Priol’s former girlfriend.
Both main defendants admitted involvement but denied premeditation, claiming they acted out of fear. Neither rugby player was armed. In his closing statements, Bouvier said he would never find words adequate to the suffering and dignity of Mr. Aramburú’s family. Le Priol told the court that he was a Christian and that the Pope was present, expressing hope for forgiveness.
Courroye described the defendants’ actions as a form of private justice. Prosecutors also sought a three‑year sentence with a one‑year suspension for Lyson Rochemir, Le Priol’s ex‑girlfriend, for concealment and destruction of evidence, and a similar sentence for the fourth defendant. Aramburú, married and father of three, had settled in the French Basque Country after retiring in 2012 and had helped Argentina finish third at the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
