Sawt Falasteen - Former Ubisoft bosses on trial in France accused of sexual harassment

After an initial hearing lasting several hours, the criminal court in Bobigny outside Paris ordered that the trial be adjourned until early June.

The proceedings come after years of controversy over the global gaming industry's treatment of women and minorities in both games and real life.

After the appearance of anonymous testimonies on social media that accused the company of a toxic work culture and alleged predatory behaviour by powerful managers, Ubisoft in 2020 launched a probe and announced the departure of several senior executives.

The executive shake-up at Ubisoft was hailed by some as a #Metoo moment in the male-dominated video game publishing industry, which has faced criticism in the past for the sexist and misogynistic characters and imagery often found in games.

Serge Hascoet, chief creative officer and the company's second-in-command, resigned, while Thomas Francois, vice-president of editorial and creative services, and another senior executive, Guillaume Patrux, were dismissed for serious misconduct.

All three men deny the claims.

Hascoet "categorically denies having harassed a single colleague. He denies having knowledge of any wrongdoing by any Ubisoft employees," his lawyer Jean-Guillaume Le Mintier said in a statement sent to AFP.

The trial was adjourned to June 2 following a request from lawyers representing the civil parties in the case as well as defence lawyers who said they had not been given enough time to get themselves familiar with the documents.

- Headstand in skirt -

Employees have complained of near-daily public humiliation and hazing.

Francois is the focus of the most damning testimonies, which have alleged systemic psychological and sexual harassment at the company's offices in the eastern Paris suburb of Montreuil.

Between January 2012 and July 2020, Francois is alleged to have habitually watched pornographic films in the open-plan office and commented on the appearance of female employees.

He is also accused of planting surprise kisses on the lips of employees and insulting some by calling them "ugly" or "slut".

Francois was also accused of forcing a young employee he had just hired to do a headstand in the open-plan office while wearing a skirt.

He is also accused of tying the same woman to a chair and putting her in an elevator, sending her to another floor.

He also allegedly forced her to attend a work meeting after he painted her face with a felt-tip pen.

In addition to the accusations of sexual and psychological harassment, Francois is being prosecuted for an attempted sexual assault when he tried to forcibly kiss a young employee during a Christmas party as she was held by other colleagues.

According to an investigative report seen by AFP, Francois encouraged "his subordinates to act in the same way, using his influence and high hierarchical position within the company to this end."

- 'Desire to humiliate' -

Hascoet, 59, is accused of lewd behaviour and posing intrusive questions of a sexual nature, as well as racist comments and behaviour.

Following deadly jihadist attacks in Paris in 2015, he allegedly asked a Muslim employee if she agreed with the ideas of the Islamic State group.

The woman had her computer desktop background changed to images of bacon sandwiches and food was placed on her desk during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.

The third defendant, former game director Patrux, 39, has been accused of psychological harassment.

Investigators have spoken to dozens of witnesses during the probe, but "many refused to file a complaint for fear of reactions from the video game community," according to the report seen by AFP.

They deplored "the inertia of human resources," according to the report.

"I have seen several cases of moral or sexual harassment and I have never seen such a desire to humiliate," said Charlotte Merigot, a lawyer for a video game workers' union.

Following an internal survey, Ubisoft said in 2020 that about 25 percent of its employees had been victims of professional misconduct at work or were witnesses to it.

I.Matar--SF-PST