Europe 1 with AFP 18:28 p.m., March 19, 2023

A year after the terrible tragedy in which the former rugby player of Biarrtiz Féderico Aramburu was shot dead in a Parisian bar by two members belonging to small groups of extreme right, a tribute was paid to him in Paris. A plaque in his memory was hung at the site of the tragedy.

Fight "the far right, racism, hatred": a year after the death of former Argentine rugby player Federico Martin Aramburu, shot dead in Paris, a tribute was paid to him Sunday by his relatives, elected officials and rugby figures. The rally took place at the end of the morning, at 146, boulevard Saint-Germain, in the sixth arrondissement of the capital, where the 42-year-old former international was killed.

The family and friends of the former sportsman were present, as well as Serge Blanco, former boss of Biarritz Olympique with whom he had been crowned twice champion of France, the Argentine coach Gonzalo Quesada or the former president of the French Rugby Federation Bernard Laporte. In the emotional crowd, where some carried flowers, stood Shaun Hegarty, friend and associate of Federico Martin Aramburu, who was with him on the evening of his death, as well as Thomas Lièvremont, Damien Traille, Imanol Harinordoquy and Thierry Dusautoir.

>> READ ALSO – Loïk Le Priol, main suspect in the murder of Aramburu, tried in another case

Killed in a bar

The ex-Puma was shot dead on March 19, 2022 after an altercation in a bar. The two main suspects are two activists anchored to the extreme right: Romain Bouvier and Loïk Le Priol, a former soldier and activist of the ultra-right movement Groupe Union Défense (GUD), who fled to Hungary after the incident before being arrested. They were indicted for "murder" and imprisoned.

"Any extremism causes disasters (...) but this irrational and characteristic hatred of the far right towards everything it considers different from itself makes it a constant threat in many societies," said Cecilia, the mother of Federico Martin Aramburu. "The truth of Federico's murder could not be hidden, it is obvious to all. That is why we are here today, paying tribute to Federico for the person of great value that he was, but also to protect his honor, because he was the victim of an execution that should never have taken place," she said.

>> READ ALSO – Murder of Aramburu: Loïk Le Priol will be handed over by Hungary to the French authorities

The Ambassador of Argentina present

Argentina's ambassador to France, Leonardo Daniel Costantino, said he had come "to embody the support of the Argentine state for Federico's family and my country's condemnation of this act of extreme violence against an Argentine compatriot, who also held French nationality." A year later, "injustice is infinite, anger and misunderstanding still the same," said Pierre Rabadan, deputy mayor of Paris in charge of Sport, himself a former rugby player.

Hailing "a solar personality", "an exceptional rugby player", he added: "The violence and ideas that led to the worst, here, will always be fought (...) The fight against the far right, racism, hatred, identity ideology will always be at the heart of our values." At the end of the brief speeches, a plaque in memory of the deceased, which will be placed later, was unveiled. Federico Martin Aramburu, former center or winger of Biarritz (2004-2006), Perpignan (2006-2008) or Dax (2008-2010), had 22 caps with Argentina. Since his retirement from sport, he lived in Biarritz and worked in tourism.