harassment

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot will appear in court in October in relation to the sexual harassment allegations that emerged back in 2020 against a number of employees.

Back in June, three former senior Ubisoft employees received suspended prison sentences and fines after being found guilty of harassment. All three employees left the company in 2020 as part of a wave of resignations and dismissals.

However, as reported by French outlet BFM TV, a subpoena has been issued against Guillemot in relation to this case, meaning he’ll have to appear before the Bobigny court (Seine-Saint-Denis) on 1st October.

The summons for Guillemot was filed by the Solidaires Informatiques union and four individuals, “the same civil parties” as in the previous trial resolved in June.

Following an investigation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, no criminal proceedings will be held against Ubisoft or its management, which was confirmed during the closing arguments at the hearing in June.

“Our top priority is to ensure the absolute protection of the physical and moral integrity of its employees, through a policy of prevention and zero tolerance with regard to sexual or moral harassment, sexist behavior, assault, insult, or discrimination of any kind,” said Cecile Russeil, executive vice president of Ubisoft.

A union representative from Solidaires Informatiques has confirmed the summons was sent last month, but Guillemot was absent and his family refused to take his place. HR director Marie Derain and Ubisoft as a legal entity have also been summoned.

In 2020, following reports of harassment at the studio, Guillemot was asked how much he knew of the issues taking place. “It has now become clear that certain individuals betrayed the trust I placed in them and did not live up to Ubisoft’s shared values,” he said. “I have never compromised on my core values and ethics and never will. I will continue to run and transform Ubisoft to face today’s and tomorrow’s challenges.”

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Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has been summoned to appear before a French court, following a trial in which three former executives were found guilty of workplace harassment in June.

In that trial, Serge Hascoët, Tommy François, and Guillaume Patrux were all given fines and suspended sentences ranging between twelve months and three years, after being convicted based on accusations including sexual misconduct, bullying and systemic racism. All three either resigned or were dismissed from Ubisoft following reports of their conduct in 2020.

Now, the trade union Solidaires Informatique and four other individuals, who were all involved in that original trial, have filed a subpoena instructing Guillemot to appear before the Brobigny District Court on October 1. As reported by French news network BFM TV (via VGC), the summons is in relation to that trial.

In a statement to VGC, Ubisoft confirmed it had received summons from the union and related parties to appear before the court, specifying that “these are the same civil parties and this summons is based on the same facts as those in the case judged by the court this past June, following an investigation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office.”

Ubisoft added that “After that investigation, and contrary to the civil parties’ requests, the Public Prosecutor’s Office decided that there were no grounds to initiate criminal proceedings against Ubisoft or its management, a decision it confirmed during its closing arguments at the hearing last June.”

Ubisoft concluded by saying it would “continue to cooperate with the justice system in this matter, as it has done over the past five years in the review of the facts related to this case.”

Hascoët, formerly Ubisoft’s chief creative officer, received an 18-month suspended sentence and a fine of €40,000/$47,190, after being found guilty of “psychological harassment and complicity in sexual harassment.” According to both court testimony and an internal Ubisoft investigation, employees under Hascoët were subjected to racial slurs and Islamophobic pranks.

François, meanwhile, was convicted on charges of sexual misconduct and attempted sexual assault, accused of trying to forcibly kiss an employee who was restrained during a holiday party. The former vice president of editorial and creative services received a heavier suspended sentence of three-years and a fine of €30,000/$35,340. Former game director Patrux received a 12-month suspended term and a €10,000/$11,800 fine. His sentencing described his bullying as “smaller scale” but “particularly intense”.

In May, it was reported that Guillemot and Ubisoft’s human resources director Marie Derain would be summoned to testify in the original trial. But Ubisoft denied this report, stating that “Neither Ubisoft, Yves, nor anyone from our HR team are parties to these proceedings.”

In addition to its statement responding to the summons, Ubisoft’s executive vice president Cecile Russeil said “Our top priority is to ensure the absolute protection of the physical and moral integrity of its employees, through a policy of prevention and zero tolerance with regard to sexual or moral harassment, sexist behaviour, assault, insult, or discrimination of any kind.”

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Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot summoned to French Court in relation to previous harassment trial against former employees

Ubisoft CEO summoned to appear before French court in relation to harassment trial, as the publisher says it will ‘continue to cooperate with the justice system in this matter’