Olivier Delacroix records the rare testimony of Romain Bouvier's mother before the Aramburú trial

This is an extremely rare public statement. On his YouTube channel, in the format "Dans le monde d'Olivier" (In Olivier's World), host and journalist Olivier Delacroix broadcast a long maintenance with Me Janine Bonaggiunta, criminal lawyer and mother of Romain Bouvier, one of the two accused in the case of the death of former Argentinian rugby player Federico Martín Aramburú.

In this intimate interview, the lawyer speaks publicly for the first time about the tragedy that occurred on the night of March 19, 2022, on Boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris. The case, which became highly publicized and politically charged, will see Loïk Le Priol stand trial in September 2026 for murder, while his son will appear in court for attempted murder.

"Reality has been completely distorted."

Facing the journalist, lawyer Janine Bonaggiunta directly contested the way the case had been presented in the media for the past four years. Very soon after the events, several articles had referred to a "racist crime" and profiles linked to the far right.

According to her, this interpretation does not correspond to the reality of that night.

She describes an evening that began calmly enough at a venue on Boulevard Saint-Germain. The initial exchanges between Romain Bouvier's group and the two former Argentinian rugby players were reportedly cordial. But an altercation eventually broke out in the middle of the night between the athletes and a friend of Romain's.

"He kept saying he didn't want to fight," says his mother, who describes a young man who was "literary," "creative," and unaccustomed to violence before certain encounters in recent years.

A scene of panic at the heart of the case

In his account, Mr. Bonaggiunta explains that his son panicked after one of the rugby players approached him and shouted, "You're dead."

Romain Bouvier then pulled out an antique weapon he was carrying. A central piece of evidence in the legal case.

The lawyer herself admits that she never accepted her son carrying a weapon, even though she acknowledges that he collected antiques and 19th-century firearms. According to her, he fired towards the ground to intimidate and halt the advance of the men facing him.

A few moments later, a second sequence takes place without his presence: Loïk Le Priol returns to the scene and fatally shoots Federico Martín Aramburú.

For Romain Bouvier's mother, this distinction between the two scenes is fundamental to understanding the case.

"I simply want him to be judged for what he did."

Throughout the interview, Janine Bonaggiunta insists on one point: she is not trying to deny the facts or to absolve her son of responsibility.

"I simply want him to be judged for what he actually did," she repeats several times.

The lawyer also reflects on the media coverage of the case and the personal consequences she suffered. Some clients reportedly left her firm after the scandal broke. She also recounts the burden of public scrutiny and the brutal realities faced by the families of prisoners.

Since her son's incarceration, she regularly visits prison visiting rooms, no longer as a lawyer, but as a mother. "We are all locked up with them," she confides in this particularly personal exchange.

A highly anticipated trial in September 2026

The trial in the Federico Martín Aramburú case is scheduled to take place in September 2026 before the Paris Assize Court and will last several weeks. The surveillance videos from that night are expected to be extensively analyzed during the proceedings.

In her poignant testimony, Me Janine Bonaggiunta primarily delivers the perspective of a mother who has been confronted for four years with a case that has become a media symbol.

“When he called me after his arrest, he said, ‘I promise you one thing, I didn’t kill.’” A phrase she says she still carries with her every day.