French court hands suspended sentences to three ex-Ubisoft executives over workplace harassment
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Three former Ubisoft executives have been handed suspended prison sentences by a French court after being found guilty of fostering a culture of sexual and psychological harassment at the company.
As reported by France24, Thomas François, former editorial VP at Ubisoft, received the harshest sentence of the three after being found guilty of attempted sexual assault. He was issued a suspended three-year prison sentence and was fined €30,000 ($35,000).
Meanwhile, ex-Ubisoft chief creative officer Serge Hascoët received an 18-month suspended sentence for psychological harassment and complicity in sexual harassment and has been fined €45,000 ($58,000).
Former games director Guillaume Patrux was given a 12-month suspended sentence for lesser harassment and was fined €10,000 ($12,000).
Tough times
During the trial, defence lawyers argued that their clients had never been disciplined by Ubisoft’s HR. Internal investigations only began after media reports exposed the allegations, sparking broader criticism of France’s games industry.
Hascoët, François, and Patrux all left Ubisoft in 2020 following those investigations.
Five years later, the ruling has been met with praise from Maude Beckers, a lawyer for the affected civil parties, who called the verdict “a very good decision”.
After what has been a “challenging” year for the company, Ubisoft said it is planning a new organisational structure by year-end to improve game quality and capital allocation, including creating a new subsidiary to grow key IPs and partnering with Tencent to eliminate net debt.
In its FY24-25 financials, the company said its cost reduction program exceeded its initial €200m ($225m) goal and aims for another €100m ($112m) reduction within two years.
Last month, two-thirds of Ubisoft Halifax staff filed to unionise with CWA Canada, with 39 of 60 employees signing union cards. A secret ballot vote and certification will follow to formally establish the bargaining unit.
