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A French politician has some harsh words for Assassin’s Creed Unity’s vision of a revolution

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Amid widespread reports of glitches, another kind of criticism has been raised against Assassin’s Creed Unity from a French politician who decries it as deplorable, right wing propaganda, according to The Telegraph.

The game is set during the height of the French Revolution and features many historical figures like King Louis XVI, Robespierre, and Marie Antoinette. Former French minister Jean-Luc Mélenchon claims that its portrayal of these characters distorts history in the service of a far-right, extremist agenda.

By portraying the “cretin” Marie Antoinette and “treacherous” Louis XVI as upstanding people under siege by the savage masses, the game promotes a “hatred of the people, hatred of the republic which is rampant in the far-right milieux (of today).”

Robespierre features prominently in the game as one of the important leaders of the Revolution at the time. While the game portrays him as a bloodthirsty and fanatical ringleader of executions, many French people, including Mélenchon, view him as an important spokesman for the poor and downtrodden, and a key protector of the nascent republic.

Although Ubisoft has come under some amount of fire for previous Assassin’s Creed games’ takes on fraught historical events, the France-based publisher seems to have struck a particular nerve with this interpretation of its home country’s own history.

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Will Fulton
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…
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