"I'm not under oath, so can I lie?" - Guillaume de Fondaumière
On May 27 and 28, 2021, a trial was held in the Paris court between Quantic Dream and newspapers Le Monde and Mediapart. The video game studio is suing the two newspapers for defamation for articles that reveal:
- the existence and distribution within Quantic Dream of racist, homophobic, transphobic and Nazi photomontages.
- a practice of social fraud set up as a system
- and more generally a toxic corporate culture
During these two days of trial, the leaders of Quantic Dream competed with arrogance and amateurism. They came to attack the newspapers, but the trial seems to have turned against them as they struggled to defend their decency and dignity.
So, which moments should we remember from these two days of grotesque trial?
DAVID CAGE stammering, in tears, exclaiming "you are interfering in my business!", "This case is about my honor" before leaving the courtroom, fleeing from the defense lawyers' plea. It is obvious that it was difficult for him to talk about honor as a list of comments he allegedly made in public was cited: "Anyway, in my games all women are whores", "In the open space, there is a lack of tits" or "At Quantic Dream we don't make games for fags".
In the case of social fraud, Quantic Dream proudly displayed documents concerning the dismissal of an employee, supposedly showing the good faith of the company. The defense lawyers thanked Quantic Dream, because after a quick examination, the documents reveal irregularities implying an illegal dismissal.
Another terrible moment is when we see a dozen or so identical letters of dismissal, all copy/pasted, with only the name of the employee changing, and always with the same mention of "differences of opinion with the management", including in the case of GUILLAUME DE FONDAUMIERE's self dismissal. He obviously had difficulty following his own directives.
Questioned on this subject, the CEO of Quantic Dream, at the end of his arguments, asked the magistrates, eye to eye, "But I'm not under oath, so can I lie?" before making a series of dubious allegations, and evoking a company in serious jeopardy (without however being able to provide any proof of any harm).
The gesticulations of the beleaguered CEO might make one smile, if they did not underline the existence of a system of social fraud intended to evade social contributions.
The witnesses called by Quantic Dream, all current or former employees of the company, do not fare any better. Praising so much the virtues of the company, they pushed a judge to ask them to "stop with the elements of language".
The staff representatives, when asked about the actions taken following the publication of the articles, mentioned "informal talks" without being able to cite more concrete actions.
The person in charge of harassment matters at the Social and Economic Committee [CSE, representative body of the staff in a company], for her part, believes that there is no harassment in the company since she never received a message on the subject.
And everyone seems to be discovering parts of the case, from the toxic nature of the photomontages to the company's institutional fraud practices.
For Solidaires Informatique, beyond the ridiculousness of seeing two bosses stammering when they have to explain their dubious methods, this trial is important, because it dismantles part of the company's vast strategy of rewriting the facts, an agglomeration of intimidation, provocation, false communications and legal proceedings.
The verdict will be given on July 8.
While waiting for this date, we renew our call for solidarity with the former employees who denounced these practices, whom Edwy Plenel congratulated for their courage and described as "whistleblowers".
These people are also subject to judicial repression by the studio Quantic Dream. Some of them are in financial difficulties, without a job or facing important legal fees.
https://www.lepotcommun.fr/pot/2vg0oskx
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solidairesinformatique.org
kotaku.com
