Renowned for its breathtaking performances featuring Viking ships, Roman gladiators, and intrepid knights engaging in daring feats, France’s Puy du Fou is consistently ranked among the top theme parks globally. Its crowning spectacle, Cinéscénie, recreates 700 years of French history with a massive cast of over 1,000 actors, hundreds of horses, and nearly 800 fireworks in each show.

Now, the company is setting its sights on the UK with a £600m investment aimed at bringing its immersive historical experiences to Oxfordshire. Plans include the construction of grand medieval-style castles, themed hotels, and dining establishments on farmland near the M40. Partnering with the real estate firm Savills, Puy du Fou is preparing planning applications and is expected to seek British investors for a project that could generate thousands of jobs.

However, some residents near the proposed site have expressed concerns over the company's background, citing connections with far-right figures and a controversial past engagement with Vladimir Putin. These skeptics question the company's intentions and the perspective on history it intends to portray.

The visionary behind Puy du Fou, Philippe de Villiers, hails from an aristocratic lineage and first conceived the park in the 1970s after discovering a neglected Renaissance castle in western France’s Vendée region. The park has since flourished into the country’s second most popular theme park, attracting more than 2.8 million visitors each year, second only to Disneyland Paris.

De Villiers later entered politics, founding the right-wing party Mouvement pour la France (MPF) in 1994. The party’s platform included opposition to new mosque construction, along with prohibitions on same-sex marriage and adoption. Although he has since stepped back from active politics, he continues to voice strong opinions against immigration and Islam on his political television program.

Last month, he was among the distinguished guests at the funeral of National Front founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, seated alongside far-right presidential hopeful Éric Zemmour, a longtime ally. Zemmour has faced multiple hate speech convictions, including for inflammatory remarks about unaccompanied migrant children, whom he labeled as criminals.

“He fights for what I live and suffer for—the defense of our civilization,” De Villiers once stated in support of Zemmour’s views.

With Puy du Fou now overseen by De Villiers' son, Nicolas, his focus has shifted primarily to business rather than politics. However, Nicolas played a role in a particularly contentious chapter in the park’s history. In 2014, father and son traveled to Moscow to discuss launching two Puy du Fou-branded theme parks in Russia.

At the time, Russia had recently annexed Crimea, an act widely condemned by the international community. Nevertheless, De Villiers Sr. praised Putin and pledged to help promote Crimea’s Russian heritage by developing a park in the region.

Puy du Fou’s prospective Russian business partner was oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev, sanctioned by the US, UK, and EU for financially supporting pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine. Despite his father’s ideological inclinations, Nicolas De Villiers defended working with Malofeyev, describing him as a man of “great moral power” and insisting that global sanctions would not hinder their plans.

Although the Russian parks never came to fruition, the De Villiers family's ties to Putin remain a sore point for many in Oxfordshire.

A spokesperson for Puy du Fou stated that their Russian venture never progressed beyond the conceptual phase and was quickly abandoned once geopolitical tensions escalated. “Like many businesses at the time, we were taken by surprise by the rapid deterioration in Russia’s international standing,” they explained, maintaining that the company has since had no dealings in Russia.

For some, however, the damage had already been done. Charles Harman, a former banker and founder of two Ukraine-focused charities, lives near the proposed Oxfordshire site and finds the company’s track record troubling. “They walked straight into Putin’s propaganda trap,” he said. “The idea that they should be embraced here is deeply offensive.”

Natalia, a Ukrainian refugee who fled Kyiv and now lives in Oxford, shares that sentiment. “I cannot support anyone aligned with those who back Russian aggression, whether in Ukraine, Georgia, or beyond,” she said. “Allowing this park to be built would be a sign of Europe’s weakness.”

Her broader concern is how the De Villiers family's ideological stances might influence the historical narratives presented at the park. “Beliefs shape perspectives, and once people embrace a certain view, changing their minds is difficult,” she warned.

Similar concerns have been raised in France, especially from left-leaning historians and politicians. A group of scholars authored Le Puy du Faux (“The Peak of Falsehoods”), a study alleging that the park promotes a nationalist and Catholic conservative interpretation of history.

Historian Guillaume Lancereau believes the park’s narrative agenda is clear: “It presents history through a traditionalist and religiously infused nationalist lens.”

Flo van Diemen van Thor, a resident of Bucknell, a village near the proposed theme park, questions what Puy du Fou can contribute to an area already rich in historical heritage. Her local church dates back to 1074, while the nearby pub, The Trigger Pond, has been quenching local thirsts since 1637.

As a co-founder of the North Oxfordshire Residents’ Action group, which scrutinizes local development projects, Van Thor worries that ideological biases held by the De Villiers family might inevitably color their version of history. “This park could help shape public perceptions, blurring the line between fact and fiction,” she said. “Who gets to decide which history is told?”

Historically, the answer has been Philippe de Villiers himself, as he wrote the scripts for Puy du Fou’s flagship performances.

Puy du Fou has remained silent on the question of De Villiers’ political ties when approached by journalists, though French records indicate he still retains significant influence within the company. Publicly available corporate filings reviewed by the media outlet Mediacités in 2023 suggest he holds directorial roles in both Puy du Fou France, the theme park’s primary operating company, and Puy du Fou Stratégie, a nonprofit holding group that owns nearly half of the park’s shares.

Despite distancing himself from daily operations, De Villiers has leveraged his political influence to Puy du Fou’s advantage. The park was among the first French attractions allowed to reopen after COVID-19 lockdowns, ahead of Disneyland Paris. Reports suggest this was partly due to his close ties with President Emmanuel Macron.

Earlier this year, the French government initially excluded Puy du Fou from the Culture Pass program, which funds youth access to cultural attractions. De Villiers publicly criticized the decision as a scandal, and within days, the park was reinstated.

In the UK, without such political leverage, the company has adopted a different approach—hosting presentations and engaging with local stakeholders to gain support. Some in Oxfordshire claim Puy du Fou has even invited British officials to France to experience the park firsthand as part of a goodwill campaign.

While the company declined to comment on questions about De Villiers’ politics, it dismissed opposition as a tactic by certain “nimby” residents seeking to block an otherwise beneficial investment. “Some of these claims are baseless fabrications, creating a controversy where none exists simply for media attention,” a spokesperson said.

Puy du Fou maintains that it has earned the confidence of investors and regional governments in both France and Spain, where it also operates. “We do not intend to engage in endless debates over exaggerated criticisms. This project is about celebrating British history and bringing an exceptional cultural attraction to the region.”

The company insists it has a strong track record of collaboration with governments and civic groups across the political spectrum and remains focused on its expansion.