A boys' club above the law: former Ubisoft execs in court for alleged sexual harassment and abuse
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Summary
Former Ubisoft executives Serge Hascoët, Tommy François and Guillaume Patrux are standing trial in France for their alleged roles in allowing a culture of sexual harassment and abuse at the company.
Hascoët, former chief creative officer, and Patrux, a former game director, both deny all charges, while François, a former vice-president, denies attempting to harm anyone.
During the trial, further details have emerged, including that a female employee was tied to a chair with tape and pushed into an elevator, and another was drawn on with a marker pen and forced to attend a meeting without washing it off.
Also among the allegations are that Muslim staff were targeted with anti-Muslim stereotypes and that some male staff were subjected to sexualised office games.
In 2020, Ubisoft apologised to those affected by the abuses and announced plans to improve its policies, but in 2021 current and former staff said the company had failed to make meaningful progress.
CEO Yves Guillemot has previously defended Ubisoft’s reforms, but the company has yet to respond to the latest developments.
