The end of the evening is approaching at Mabillon, a trendy bar in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. The clinking of glasses mixes with loud voices. The establishment is preparing to close on March 19, 2022. Two groups that are completely opposite but whose face is not unknown to the general public are seated a few meters from each other. On one side, Romain Bouvier, 31 years old, and Loïk le Priol, 27 years old, two members of the ultra-right, sympathizers of the GUD (Union Defense Group), dissolved in June 2024. On the other, the Argentinian Federico Martin Aramburu, 42 years old, ex-international rugby player, and his former teammate aged 38, Shaun Hegarty. A brawl breaks out on the terrace of Boulevard Saint-Germain, an upscale thoroughfare in the capital. What followed was a chase, two scenes of shooting, ten detonations and one death: the double French rugby champion in 2005 and 2006, Federico Martin Aramburu.
The Paris Assize Court opens its doors on Monday September 7 to try Loïk Le Priol for murder. He pleads self-defense. His friend Romain Bouvier, justifying “dissuasive” shots towards the ground – a version contested by video surveillance – is on trial for attempted assassination. The partner of the first, Lyson R., and the friend of the second, Anthony S., are also summoned to the dock. The young woman, present on the evening of the events and then aged 24, appeared for complicity in attempted murder. Romain Bouvier's friend, 37 years old, is indicted for concealment and theft of an object with a view to obstructing the manifestation of the truth. Franceinfo looks back at what happened during that night during which the former champion suddenly succumbed.
A first brawl on the Mabillon terrace
It was 4:40 a.m. when the two ultra-right activists moved to Mabillon, reports the indictment order consulted by franceinfo. Loïk Le Priol, soon joined by his partner Lyson R., regularly frequents this café. Nearly forty minutes later, the two rugby players, who have already drunk "around ten glasses", take their turn on the terrace. They planned to attend the France-England match of the Six Nations tournament that same evening. The atmosphere is festive, the beers go back and forth and the cigarettes burn.
The clock shows 5:52 when Loïk Le Priol, a former soldier dismissed from the army, sharply taps Shaun Hegarty several times on the cheek, requiring the intervention of the bar security guard. According to the testimony of the person concerned, the ultra-right activist has just been arrested by the rugby player. The latter accuses him of having addressed "in a condescending manner to a neighbor", sitting at another table. “That’s not how you treat someone,” said Shaun Hegarty, according to a customer who witnessed the scene. “You’re going to shut your mouth,” Loïk Le Priol retorts. “Otherwise I’m going to smoke you and I’m going to fuck your mother.”
That evening, the two GUD sympathizers, met on the benches of Assas University, committed a violation of their judicial control. At issue: a case of violence in meetings committed to the detriment of Edouard Klein, a former leader of the GUD. While Loïk Le Priol is not authorized to go to Ile-de-France, the two friends are prohibited from coming into contact and carrying a weapon. However, surveillance cameras show Loïk Le Priol handling a weapon attached to his belt during the evening, on the bar stairs leading to the toilets.
“We wanted to fuck them!”
After threats from Loïk Le Priol, the two men returned to their respective tables. The minutes pass in a certain calm. At 6 a.m., Federico Martin Aramburu and Shaun Hegarty prepare to leave the bar. But the former French champion with Biarritz, now manager of a travel agency, suddenly grabbed the hood of the ultra-right activist, causing his fall. An affront for Loïk Le Priol who reacted immediately. In a fraction of a second, the two men hit each other, quickly joined by Shaun Hegarty and Romain Bouvier. The brawl ended on the other side of rue de Buci, located at the corner of boulevard Saint-Germain, in front of a newspaper kiosk.
Separated by the bar staff, the two rugby players walk away from Mabillon. “I’m going to kill him,” shouts Loïk Le Priol, his hand on his heart as he is held back by the bar’s security guard. “But who are you going to kill?” objects one of the waiters, without taking this threat seriously. Loïk Le Priol, who has a knife tattooed on his forearm, reveals an armband marked “Police” in front of the security agent. He also displays a revolver, the loading of which had been checked in the cafe toilets. They are “baqueux [police officers who are members of the anti-crime brigade]”, the security guard then tells his colleagues.
“Why did you let them go? We wanted to fuck them!” shouts Romain Bouvier, furious. To calm the tension, bar employees try to make them believe that the two ex-rugby players left the premises by taxi. But Loïk Le Priol does not budge. He leaves at full speed in the direction of Boulevard Saint-Germain. Without knowing it, he passes the two athletes, holed up in a hotel to ask for ice cubes. At the same time, a green Jeep approaches Mabillon. At the wheel of the car belonging to the former soldier: Lyson R., the partner of Loïk Le Priol, immediately joined by Romain Bouvier. “We’ll find them.” It's 6:07 a.m.
“I’m going to leave, something serious happened”
A few hundred meters further, the two individuals caught up with the two rugby players at the foot of a shoe store. Lyson R. tries in vain to insert the vehicle between Romain Bouvier and Federico Martin Aramburu. But the ex-Puma international heads towards the neo-Nazi activist, who points his weapon horizontally. The former Biarritz player raises his arms. A first detonation rang out, followed by three others. Two bullets, non-fatal, hit him. It's 6:08 a.m. Romain Bouvier fled on foot when Lyson R. went alone in the opposite direction, rue de la Seine.
Warned by the gunshots, Loïk Le Priol runs back and appears in front of the shoe store. New fight. Violent. Under a hail of blows, he in turn takes out his revolver. Six shots are fired in four seconds. It's 6:09 a.m. The 31-year-old activist also fled on foot. Two of the bullets fired into the back of Federico Martin Aramburu hit his left lung and his right kidney. Two fatal bullets. Shaun Hegarty, away from this burst of gunfire, joins his friend. The Argentinian succumbed to his injuries in his arms at the age of 42.
After going to Mabillon again to move her own vehicle, Lyson R. drives her companion from the Pont des Invalides to rue du Président Wilson, in the 16th arrondissement. “I’m going to leave (...) something serious happened,” Loïk Le Priol told him. The 24-year-old young woman was arrested the same day. Justice accuses him today of having hidden his companion's phone and jeep in an underground car park in the capital.
