The heartbreaking testimony of the mother of Federico Martín Aramburú, the former Puma shot dead in Paris

Almost two years have passed since that tragic March 19, 2022, when the former rugby player was murdered Federico Martin Aramburu, after a fight in a bar in the city of Paris ended with a brutal shooting against the former Argentine athlete. Aramburú was Puma #623 and had won the bronze medal at the 2007 World Championships in France with the national team.

wedding ringas his relatives called him, he was murdered by two militants of a far-right group, Romain Bouvier (turned four times) e Loik Le Priol (he fired six shots, including three in the back), who are in prison awaiting trial. Furthermore, the two are members of a far-right French cell. Union Defense Group (GUD). To date, the investigations are still ongoing and the trial should take place before the end of the year.

“Meurtre en Ovalie” (Murder in Ovalie), is the documentary created by Le Samedi at 1.15pm, which will be broadcast on France TV Sports. This report tells the story of the murder of the Argentine rugby player on the streets of the French capital and collects the testimonies of people close to Aramburú. Cecilia, his mother, gave a moving testimony.

“Hate is left to the haters. What we experienced, I wouldn’t wish on any parent, not even the parents of these mentally ill people.”Aramburú’s mother begins to speak, as they walk through the corridors of the cemetery in the city of Biarritz, where the Argentine’s remains rest.

“They were not crazy, drunk in a bar episode. They were racists, supremacists. They had no right to be together in Paris. They could not have weapons. They had already been arrested and should have been under surveillance”Cecilia continues, alluding to the two murderers.

“The only thing I hope is that Fede’s death is not in vain. It’s the only thing I hope for”concludes the mother of the former athlete, who can be seen in tears, accompanied by her son’s family and friends.

Both Bouvier and Le Priol had already received a conviction, again for violence, and that is why the two attackers could not be together or return to the city of Paris. Much less be armed. Moreover, Le Priol, had been separated from the French military for post-traumatic stress disorder after participating in missions in the Middle East in mid-2015.

Another person who participates in the documentary is Shaun Hegarty, friend, ex-partner and partner of Federico Aramburú, who was with him when the attack occurred. “From the moment the first shots were fired, my brain froze. I see what’s happening, but I’m in slow motion mode. I’m there, but I’m not really there.”Hegarty begins by recounting the events of the tragic evening.

“When Le Priol shoots Federico again is when I realize the gravity of the scene. I tell myself it’s a nightmare, and I almost say to him: ‘Come on, let’s go to the hotel, let’s go home’. unreal”adds the 40-year-old New Zealander.

How Federico Martín Aramburú was murdered

March 19, 2022 Federico Martin Aramburu He was in Paris with his partner and friend, also a former player Shaun Hegarty, with whom he shared a team in the city of Biarritz. Together they had created a Biarritz-based tourism business that organized sports tours, with contingents wanting to see rugby or football outside the city.

The Argentine and the New Zealander were in the French capital for reasons related to the 2023 World Cup in France and their tour company. After a day of meetings and dinner in an Argentine restaurant, they both went to the “Le Mabillon” bar. There, two people began insulting each other with racist and xenophobic insults. Aramburú and his partner intervened and from shouting they turned to punching. There was a fight that the security officers defused, but which resumed in the street, with extreme violence. The former Puma remained lying on the ground.

When the fight died down, the former rugby players and partners headed towards the street where they were ambushed by a jeep from which the two bar attackers got out. Four bullets from Romain Bouvier and six from Loïk Le Priol, three of them in the back, were the ones that ended the life of Federico Martín Aramburú.