Ubisoft at the centre of a scandal: trial of ex-executives accused of sexual harassment and abusive behaviour begins

A trial has begun in France against three former Ubisoft executives accused of sexual harassment, attempted sexual assault and psychological abuse.

Here's What We Know

Serge Hascoët, Tommy François, and Guillaume Patrux all appeared in court in Bobigny, near Paris, to begin the trial, which will last for a week. During the trial, the three men and six women will testify about what they experienced at the hands of the three men while working for the company.

Back in 2020, when the allegations became public, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said the company was "committed to implementing deep changes across the company to improve and strengthen our workplace culture."

Hascoet, 59, former chief creative officer of Ubisoft, resigned following the allegations against him. According to the lawsuit, he is accused of various instances of sexual harassment and bullying. According to the lawsuit, Hascoet said in a conference room in the presence of others that he should have sex with one of his senior employees to "appease her". He is also accused of asking a Muslim employee if she supported the Islamic State after the deadly 2015 Paris terrorist attack. The same woman had her computer wallpaper changed to a bacon sandwich during Ramadan. There are other charges against Haskoit. Haskoet's lawyer stated that "Serge Haskoet categorically denies harassing even one colleague. He denies any knowledge of any unacceptable actions committed by Ubisoft employees and has not received any reports of such."

Patroux, a former game director who is accused of psychological harassment and was fired after the investigation, is accused of mock punching Ubisoft employees, punching walls, flicking whips at employees' faces and setting fire to a man's beard, among other charges.

As for Francois, the lawsuit alleges that between January 2012 and July 2020, the former vice president of editorial and creative services played pornographic films in the open office and regularly commented on the appearance of female Ubisoft employees.

It is also alleged that he forced a newly hired employee to stand on her head in the office in a skirt. He is also accused of tying the same woman to a chair, putting her in a lift and sending her to another floor.

Finally, Francois is accused of attempted sexual assault, in which he allegedly tried to forcefully kiss a young female employee during a Christmas party while she was being held down by other employees. In the lawsuit, the woman claims that she was able to resign and felt "traumatised" by what happened. Francois was also fired after an investigation into his behaviour.

Prior to the filing of court documents, investigators in the case reportedly found that a number of people had refused to file any complaints out of fear of repercussions. All three defendants deny the charges against them.

Source: Franceinfo