A French theme park tycoon with ties to the Kremlin is behind plans for a £600 million attraction hoping to be set up near Oxford.
Puy du Fou, which runs medieval-themed parks in France and Spain, plans to expand with a 400-acre site in Cherwell, north of Bicester. A consultation on the plans was launched last month.
The first park, founded in 1978 in Vendee in western France, prides itself on its ‘multitude of spectacular shows’ with falconry, sword fights and jousting.
Instead of rides, it focuses on re-enactments and spectacles including Roman chariot racing and Viking battles. But the park’s controlling family are likely to raise eyebrows in sleepy Oxfordshire due to the founder’s links to Russia and the far-right.
