The first big trial to result from the #MeToo movement in the video games industry began in France on Monday, with three former executives from the French video game company Ubisoft accused of sexual harassment and bullying, one of whom is also accused of attempted sexual assault, reports The Guardian.
Ubisoft, the French family business that rose to become one of the biggest video games creators in the world, is behind several blockbusters including Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and the children’s favourite Just Dance.
A court in Bobigny in Seine-Saint-Denis will hear that between 2012 and 2020 the company’s offices in Montreuil, east of Paris, were run with a toxic culture of bullying and sexism that one member of staff likened to a “boys’ club above the law”.
Women alleged to police – also against individuals unidentified in the case – that sexual comments were made regularly about their bodies and clothes, that they were called “ugly” or “slut”, told to wear shorter skirts or lose weight, and obscene sexual hand gestures were made by senior male staff in the office.