Five former Ubisoft employees arrested on charges of sexual harassment against female employees


by

Kuba Bożanowski

Five former executives of Ubisoft , a French-based game company known for titles such as Rainbow Six Siege and Assassin's Creed , have been arrested by French police on charges of sexual harassment against female employees.

Affaire Ubisoft : cinq gardes à vue dans le cadre d'une enquête pour harcèlements moral et sexuel – Libération
https://www.liberation.fr/culture/jeux-video/affaire-ubisoft-cinq-gardes-a-vue-dans-le-cadre-dune-enquete-pour-aggressions-et-harcelements-sexuels-20231004_HS6Z3IPLHNGKZEPBZEM3W5WHRU/



Five former Ubisoft executives arrested after sexual harassment investigation | GamesIndustry.biz
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/five-former-ubisoft-executives-arrested-after-sexual-harassment-investigation

Ex-Execs At Assassin's Creed Publisher Arrested For Questioning
https://kotaku.com/assassins-creed-ubisoft-sexual-harassment-police-1850898896

The five former employees arrested include former Ubisoft chief creative officer Serge Hakochet and former deputy editorial director Tommy Francois. Foreign media outlet Libération, which reported on the incident, did not reveal the names or other details of the remaining three people.

The five people arrested this time are said to have been harassing female employees for many years, including sexually harassing them and forcing them to drink alcohol. It has also been reported that Francois is suspected of sexually harassing a female employee at a party held at Ubisoft in 2015, including forcibly trying to kiss her.

Subsequently, in response to whistleblowing from female employees and others, Ubisoft suspended then-vice president Tommy Francois and executive Maxime Belland in 2020. In addition, it has been reported that several executives, including Francois and Hakochet, resigned in July 2020 due to sexual harassment issues.

Ubisoft, such as the Assassin's Creed series, is pointed out for its corporate culture that discriminates against women - GIGAZINE



In 2021, one year after the employee's whistle-blowing, the two employees who were victims of sexual harassment and the French labor union Solidaires Informatique jointly announced that sexual harassment by employees and sexual harassment is a customary practice. Lawsuits have been filed and police and prosecutors have investigated the workplace environment.




Finally, on October 2, 2023, local authorities arrested a total of five people, including Hakochet and Francois, on suspicion of sexual harassment of female employees. Local police have not released detailed charges against the former employee.




Maud Beckers, a lawyer for the employees, said, ``In my career, I have never seen such systematic harassment and sexual harassment in a company.'' doing.

A Ubisoft spokesperson said, ``Ubisoft does not know what is being shared with police and authorities, so we will refrain from commenting at this time.'' In addition, in response to whistleblowing from employees, Ubisoft took drastic measures to prevent harassment in 2021, including compliance and monitoring of anti-harassment policies and implementation of anti-harassment training sessions. ” is reported .

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