The former number 2 at Ubisoft, his right-hand man and a former manager of the studio will be tried for sexual and moral harassment. Several complaints were filed in 2021 following the revelations by Numerama and Libération.
It’s a bolt from the blue: three former Ubisoft executives will be tried for acts of sexual harassment and moral harassment, revealed on January 24, 2023 L’Informé. Among them, Serge Hascoët, the studio’s former number two, his former right-hand man, Tommy François, and a third manager, whose name was not mentioned. The Ubisoft group, which was also the subject of a complaint filed by the Solidaires union, is not involved.
This announcement comes a few months after the two men were placed in police custody, as well as three other former Ubisoft employees. They worked in the famous “Editorial” department, which had been described as a “boy’s club” where a toxic atmosphere reigned and in which harassment was said to be commonplace. A hearing must be held at the beginning of February before the Bobigny criminal court in order to set the date of the trial, according to L’Informed.
A lawsuit for sexual and moral harassment within Ubisoft
Serge Hascoët and Tommy François will be tried for acts of sexual and moral harassment. According to L’Informed, Tommy François will also be “ referred to court for attempted sexual assault “. He is accused of having tried to forcibly kiss a former Ubisoft employee during an evening organized by the company.
The third manager is only concerned by acts of moral harassment. “ The prosecution holds against it cries, anger or bullying », Indicates L’Informed. He would thus have insulted “ big loser » several members of his team, allegedly threatened a colleague with “ kill her ”, and would have “ held a lighter to a colleague’s beard. »
The Ubisoft studio, contacted by our colleagues, “ does not wish to comment on legal proceedings in which neither the company nor its manager are parties “. “ Serge Hascoët and his lawyer, Me Jean-Guillaume Le Mintier, do not wish to speak at this stage either. Tommy François and his counsel had not responded to our requests at the time of publication of this article. »
In 2020, a wave of testimonies on X (formerly Twitter) reporting harassment problems within several Ubisoft studios around the world. This speech was quickly followed by the publication of several surveys, carried out by Numerama and Libération.
Our articles revealed that a toxic atmosphere reigned in many Ubisoft departments, in France and abroad. The behavior of many managers had been singled out, and, particularly in France, Serge Hascoët and Tommy François had been accused of serious behavior.
Serge Hascoët, the very powerful former creative director of Ubisoft, head of the Editorial department, and his right-hand man, Tommy Français, were designated by our witnesses as responsible for the toxic atmosphere which reigned within part of the ‘business. Tommy François is said to have forcibly kissed or attempted to forcibly kiss several female employees during parties organized by the company, without other employees reacting. Serge Hascoët, for his part, would have increased the number of jokes with sexual connotations and comments on the private lives of his colleagues, creating a “boy’s club” atmosphere described as toxic by our witnesses, and would also have morally harassed the employees.
Their actions would also have been protected by the company’s human resources department. According to our witnesses, HR covered up for executives, defended their practices, and pushed their victims out, without protecting them.
These revelations were followed by a complaint, filed in 2021 by the Solidaires union and by several victims. An investigation into moral and sexual harassment was opened following this, entrusted to the Police judicial police, which according to Libération collected testimonies from around fifty people, employees and ex-employees, for more than a year.
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