Two far-right militants were sentenced Friday to 26 and 19 years in prison for the 2022 killing of Argentine rugby player Federico Martín Aramburú, escaping life sentences but receiving stern punishment for what the court described as a gratuitous act of violence fueled by a shared obsession with weapons.
Loïk Le Priol, 32, who fired the two fatal shots, and Romain Bouvier, 35, who opened fire first on the unarmed athlete, were convicted of murder and attempted murder by the Paris Assize Court after a three-week trial.
Court Rejects Self-Defense Claims
The court rejected the defendants’ claims that they acted in self-defense during the early morning altercation on March 19, 2022, ruling that their “homicidal intent” was beyond doubt. While the court did not find premeditation, it delivered a harsh assessment of the pair’s actions.
Presiding Judge Franck Zientara described the “fatal alchemy” between the two men, who shared “a common fascination for weapons and violence.” He said this combination led to the “gratuitous death” of a 42-year-old father of two.
Prosecution Sought Longer Sentences
Prosecutors had requested 27 years for Le Priol, a former special forces member discharged from the navy, and 20 years for Bouvier. The court’s sentences fell slightly below those demands but remained severe.
The court emphasized Le Priol’s “high criminological risk,” describing him as a “disturbing personality” with “psychopathic-type disorders manifested through impulsivity” and an “intolerance of dissatisfaction.” At the time of the killing, he was described as embracing a “mortiferous and violent ideology.”
For Bouvier, the court noted his “determination to shoot at an unarmed victim,” having pulled the trigger four times.
Background of the Killing
Aramburú, a former Biarritz Olympique player, was killed in the night of March 18-19, 2022, following an alcohol-fueled altercation with the two far-right activists at a Paris brasserie. The confrontation was marked by xenophobic remarks.
Both men had fired ten shots — their entire ammunition clip — and claimed during the trial they believed they were in danger and experiencing “total panic.”
The defense was undermined by evidence that the two men should not have been together on the day of the killing. They had been prohibited from associating with each other after participating in a 2015 beating of the GUD far-right group’s president during an internal violent dispute.
Additional Convictions
Le Priol’s former partner, 29, was sentenced to three years in prison, with two and a half years suspended, for concealing evidence and altering a crime scene. Another former GUD member, 37, received a three-year suspended sentence for assisting Bouvier in a brief escape and helping him dispose of his weapon.
Both former activists had been involved with the GUD, a radical far-right group dissolved in 2024.
Defendants Address Victim’s Family
In his final remarks to Aramburú’s family, Le Priol said: “I am Christian like you.” He referenced the Pope’s visit to Paris that day, adding: “I don’t know if it’s a sign, but I hope that one day they will find the strength to forgive me and that I will also find the strength to forgive myself.”
Bouvier told the court he would “never have the words” to address “the suffering and dignity of Mr. Aramburú’s family.”
