Murdered students were brightest of their generation

The post is among many from a wide circle of friends and family among whom Mr Bonomo was clearly an adored figure. Another message from Ms Bertez, a student at the University of Valenciennes, reads: "Come back quickly, mon chou!!! London is too far away. Sniff ! Love you to death. Your princess!"

Athletic, good-looking and brilliant, Mr Bonomo was a star among an elite group of students and young professionals. He and his friend Gabriel Ferez, graduates of the University of Clermont-Ferrand, were described as "two of the brightest students of their generation".

Bonomo and Ferez had both won internships at Imperial College, London, following academic careers as engineers in their home country.

Both were graduates of research schools linked to the Ecole Polytechnique, the state-run institution founded in 1794 which is renowned as the most prestigious engineering grande école in France. The école trains the scientific, industrial and economic elite of the nation.

The fact that both young men had been selected from the école to study at Imperial, arguably Britain's most respected science institute, was a measure of their potential.

"They were brilliant students with glittering careers ahead of them," said a spokesman for the Polytec, part of Clermont-Ferrand university and affiliated to the Ecole Polytechnique.

Both well known at Clermont-Ferrand, in the Auvergne, they "walked through their exams with distinction", while also excelling at sports and extra curricular activities.

Mr Bonomo, originally from the medieval village of Velaux, close to Aix-en-Provence, was student president at Polytec. He was born and brought up in the area, having left La Nativité school in Aix in 2001.

His close friend Gabriel Ferez was originally from Prouzel in the Somme region of Picardie, northern France. He had worked as a technician at the Hospital Philip Pinel in Amiens and a website for friends reveals a wide circle in the town.

As well as a brilliant scientific brain, he was a prodigious reader of history, and played badminton regularly. Friends recalled that he loved the Hugh Laurie TV series House, as well as cooking and listening to music.

On a personal website, Mr Ferez admitted that his personal life was "less successful than I had dreamed". He was not thought to have had a girlfriend but women students feature prominently on his website postings.

He describes himself as chatty, highly sociable and curious, but not in the least reckless. One of his delights was his Peugeot 206. He went to Mexico last year and has travelled through Britain and Ireland.

News of the murders prompted an outpouring of sadness and disbelief on French websites. One of Mr Bonomo's friends revealed that Laurent's mother and his fiancée Mary had become concerned after not hearing from him and telephoned friends on Sunday evening. By then, Bonomo and Ferez were almost certainly in the hands of their killer or killers.

In Paris, higher education minister Valérie Pécresse spoke of her "profound indignation and immense sadness". She added: "My thoughts go out to their families and their colleagues at the Ecole Polytechnique of Clermont-Ferrand."

Expressing her "compassion in this moment of great sadness", she added: "I've asked the rector of Clermont-Ferrand to take all measures necessary to assist and look after the students and teams at the institution."