Ten bullets are fired, and a man falls. On March 19, 2022, Federico Martin Aramburu was shot dead in the early morning in the streets of Paris. The two alleged perpetrators of the assassination of the former Argentine rugby player, two far-right activists Loïk Le Priol and Romain Bouvier, carried and drew very particular weapons that day: black powder revolvers. Collector calibers, but very easy to find at garage sales on Sundays. On one condition: be of legal age.
“This means that they circulate freely in the territory. And when we see what this could have caused, I think we need to regulate this,” says the MP for the second constituency of French people living abroad (Latin America and the Caribbean), Éléonore Caroit. The elected official (Renaissance) has been involved in this project since a meeting, via the French ambassador to Argentina, with the mother of Federico Martin Aramburu, Cecilia, herself involved in this fight.
“My son Federico Martin Aramburu was killed with two 19th century revolvers which had been transformed into real deadly tools of the 21st century,” wrote on her Instagram account the mother of the slain rugby player, whose investigation into the circumstances of the death is still in progress.
Exchanges with the executive
Other deputies, notably the elected representative (Modem) of Pyrénées-Atlantiques Florence Lasserre, the constituency where the Argentinian lived with his wife and three children, are also mobilizing. Just like Me Christophe Cariou-Martin, lawyer for Shaun Hegarty, friend of Aramburu present at his side on the morning of the tragedy.
“Today, we want an Aramburu bill to further regulate the possession of black powder weapons,” maintains his council. And if the sale of ammunition for these category D weapons has been regulated since July 2023 by a decree, a legislative amendment is required to modify the conditions of purchase of these weapons.
According to our information, discussions took place with the executive, and in particular the Ministry of the Interior, for a possible bill introduced by the government. But for now, there is no concrete answer. “If necessary, we will be able to bring forward a bill as deputies to restrict access to these weapons,” slips Éléonore Caroit.
