Havas, a subsidiary of Vivendi, also launched an audit after the publication of around twenty anonymous testimonies by the Instagram account “Balance Ton Agency”.
Le Monde with AFP
Julien Carette and Christophe Coffre, respectively CEO and Director of creation of the Communication Agency Havas Paris, went backwards their functions after accusations of harassment and sexual assault, confirmed Monday 2 May one of the group’s leaders at the France-Presse agency (AFP).
Havas, a subsidiary of Vivendi, also launched an audit after the publication of around twenty anonymous testimonies by The Instagram account” balances your agency “, which has denounced for almost a week the sexist atmosphere for a long time prevailing within the agency and Quests these two officials.
To the controllers for ten years of the agency with which they are today co -chair, the two men are accused of having sought to “kiss” or “touch” on multiple times of sometimes trainees collaborators, in The premises of Havas Paris or during external events.
“JC is a brilliant guy but he has the sexuality of a teenager. (…) Under the guise of being drunk, after two glasses, he jumps on everything that moves. The same for the DC [Director of Creation] of Havas Event. I remember warning the trainees not to approach them during the agency evenings “, according to one of these testimonies.
” Everyone knew it “
“Comments on all clothing, hands on the shoulder and size, kisses very close to the mouth, I avoided it and feared only one thing, to find myself in front of him”, says one of his Former collaborators about Christophe Coffre. Others remember him with a gesture simulating a sexual act, and inappropriate words.
The facts date back as the case with two, three years and up to ten years and have sometimes led to departures associated with non-disclosure agreements, reports to AFP Anne Boistard, creator in 2020 of the account ” Balance your agency “to denounce the drifts in the communication agencies.
“Everyone knew it and everyone knows it,” she continues, evoking “thirty” victims, even if “from #MeToo they have calmed down.” The two leaders continue to work for the Agency, said the manager of Havas to AFP. But “they do not animate meetings and are set back for all that is management of the agency,” he continued, adding: “We are talking about twenty people who have expressed themselves in an agency who has seen nearly 4,000 employees “.
Havas Paris is one of the three largest communications agencies in Paris, with some 600 employees. The Havas group is led by Yannick Bolloré, son of Vincent Bolloré, who controls the Vivendi group.