French justice has pronounced its final judgments against three former managers of Ubisoft, closing a judicial chapter that deeply marked the international videogame industry (through Ign US).
The CEO Yves Guillemot had also been involved as an accomplice and person informed on the facts, and the manager had been called into question during the procedure.
The convictions, which provide for prison penis and savory fines, represent the epilogue of a process born from the complaints of sexual harassment, racial discrimination and intimidating behaviors that in 2020 had shaken the offices of the French -speaking company.
The Court inflicted the most severe sentence to Thomas François, an ex-editorial responsible for the French giant, recognized guilty of attempted rape and sentenced to three years in prison with the conditional as well as a fine of € 30,000. The accusations against him painted a disturbing picture of systematic abuses: from the usual vision of pornographic content during working hours to non -consensual kisses to colleagues, up to the most serious episodes of sexual violence during the company’s company parties.
The details on the humiliating behaviors that François imposed on his subordinates had emerged particularly shocking. According to the testimonies collected during the trial, the ex-Direnigent had linked an employee to a chair and on another occasion he had forced a colleague to cut his nails of the feet, episodes that clearly illustrate the abuse of systematic power within the company.
Serge Hascoët, a key figure in the corporate organigram as a former creative director and considered the right arm of the CEO Yves Guillemot, received a sentence of 18 months in prison with the conditional and a fine of € 45,000 for complicity in moral harassment. His apical role made him responsible not only for his discriminatory actions, but also of the creation of a working environment that allowed other managers to act undisturbed.
The third conviction hit Guillaume Patrux, a former game designer accused of violent and intimidating behavior towards colleagues. The Court imposed 12 months in prison with the conditional and a fine of 10,000 euros, recognizing the seriousness of his actions in contributing to the climate of psychological terror that characterized certain departments of the company.
Ubisoft has chosen not to make statements regarding the sentences, maintaining a low profile that contrasts with the proclamations of ethical renewal followed by the 2020 scandal.