French trade union says Ubisoft CEO will be summoned at harassment trial of three former execs
Yves Guillemot and HR director Marie Derain are accused of being complicit in its “systematic nature of harassment”
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot is set to be summoned during the trial of three former Ubisoft executives, which is set to take place in early June.
This story contains references to sexual and racial harassment.
The trial of former CCO Serge Hascoët, former vice president of editorial and creative services Thomas François, and former game designer Guillame Patrux initially started in March, but was adjourned until early June following a request from lawyers to have more time to get familiar with the case’s documents.
Athe time, the plaintiffs’ lawyer Maude Beckers claimed that some information she requested from Ubisoft back in February 2024 had only been supplied four days ahead of the trial.
The trial will now start on June 2, and French trade union Solidaires Informatique has stated that Guillemot will be summoned, along with human resources director Marie Derain, and Ubisoft itself (as a legal entity), for being allegedly complicit in “the systemic nature of harassment” at the company.
There is no evidence that Guillemot or Deraine were directly involved in sexual harassment or bullying at the company, they are being accused of complicity.
Complaints were filed simultaneously in the summer of 2021 by trade union Solidaires Informatique and two victims on their own behalf, which led to the arrests of Hascoët, François and Patrux in 2023.
As previously reported by Le Monde, Hascoët is accused of lewd behaviour, posting intrusive questions of a sexual nature, and racist comments and behaviour.
He is alleged to have asked a Muslim employee if she supported Islamic State, and to have been responsible for her PC desktop image being replaced with photos of bacon sandwiches, and food being placed on her desk during her Ramadan fast.
François is accused of systemic psychological and sexual harassment, with alleged behaviour including the watching of porn in an open-plan office, commenting on the appearance of female staff, regular public humiliation and hazing, and attempted sexual assault where he allegedly tried to forcibly kiss a young employee during a Christmas party as she was held by other colleagues.
Patrux, who was a designer on such titles as The Crew and Grow Home, is accused of psychological harassment.
“Beyond the personal responsibility of these three executives, this trial will highlight Ubisoft’s responsibility in implementing a system aimed at keeping harassers in place while silencing their victims,” a statement from Solidaires Informatique says.
“As [lawyer Maude] Beckers indicated during the March hearing, ‘this case is broader and involves many more people, both on the side of the victims and the defendants’. It is not a question of a few individual actions, but of a well-oiled mechanism of insularity, work organization, and management that allowed this violence to continue within the company for years.”
Hascoet, who oversaw all of the company’s games as head of its influential editorial team, resigned in July 2020 after a significant number of accusations were made against him.
François, who was vice-president of editorial and creative services, subsequently left in August 2020 following accusations of sexual misconduct.
Following the initial allegations, Guillemot made a statement before a Ubisoft Forward event in September 2020, addressing the situation and the recent departures.
“This summer, we learned that certain Ubisoft employees did not uphold our company’s values, and that our systems failed to protect the victims of their behaviour,” he said.
“I am truly sorry to everyone who was hurt. We have taken significant steps to remove or sanction those who violated our values and code of conduct, and we are working hard to improve our systems and processes.”
In October 2021, an anonymous survey of almost 14,000 Ubisoft employees found that 20 percent of respondents didn’t feel “fully respected or safe in the work environment” and that 25 percent had witnessed or experienced workplace misconduct over the past two years.
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During a Q&A at a media event in 2022, Guillemot again referred to the harassment allegations, saying: “Yes, we stumbled, and we have acknowledged that. We learned a lot along the way. And we’ve made meaningful progress with concrete action plans.”
That same week, A Better Ubisoft – a group consisting of current and former Ubisoft employees – claimed that their concerns were not being heard, and that while many abusers at Ubisoft were axed, some were simply moved to new roles, different studios or even promoted, and also alleged that the HR people who dismissed their complaints and protect abusers were still at the company.
In a statement given to GI.biz at the time, a Ubisoft spokesperson said: “The launch of the company-wide survey was one of many steps we’ve taken to ensure their insight fuels our action plan. In addition, we have regular global and local townhalls, office hours, and our Employee Resource Groups participate in frequent discussions with leadership teams, including Yves who meets quarterly with global ERG leaders.
“Leadership also engages regularly with their relevant local employee representatives and we have three elected employee representatives on our Board of Directors. We are committed to engaging in meaningful discussions with our team members and will continue to ensure their feedback shapes our path forward.”
