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French Theme Park Company Partners with Kremlin-Linked Business
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World & Geopolitics

French Theme Park Company Partners with Kremlin-Linked Business

WireByte Staff · August 2, 2026

Puy du Fou, a globally renowned theme park company, has partnered with Konstantin Malofeyev's Tsargrad to develop two new parks, one in occupied Ukrainian territory. The deal was discussed between Philippe and Nicolas de Villiers and Vladimir Putin in 2014, despite EU sanctions on Malofeyev.

Key points

  • Puy du Fou, a French theme park company, has partnered with Tsargrad, a pro-Kremlin television channel founded by Konstantin Malofeyev.
  • The partnership involves developing two new parks, one in occupied Ukrainian territory, in a deal discussed between Philippe and Nicolas de Villiers and Vladimir Putin in 2014.
  • The EU imposed sanctions on Malofeyev in 2014 for allegedly providing backing for Russia's annexation of Crimea.
  • The partnership has raised concerns about the involvement of a French company in a project linked to the Kremlin and EU sanctions.

Puy du Fou, a French theme park company, has partnered with Tsargrad, a pro-Kremlin television channel founded by Konstantin Malofeyev. The partnership involves developing two new parks, one in occupied Ukrainian territory, in a deal discussed between Philippe and Nicolas de Villiers and Vladimir Putin in 2014.

The EU imposed sanctions on Malofeyev in 2014 for allegedly providing backing for Russia's annexation of Crimea. The partnership has raised concerns about the involvement of a French company in a project linked to the Kremlin and EU sanctions.

The deal was reportedly made a month after EU sanctions against Malofeyev took effect. The Livadia Palace, where the deal was discussed, is a historic location where Joseph Stalin, Franklin D Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill thrashed out the post-World War II order.

The partnership has sparked controversy, with some questioning the involvement of a French company in a project linked to the Kremlin and EU sanctions. The implications of this deal are still unclear, but it has raised concerns about the involvement of Western companies in projects linked to Russia's annexation of Crimea.

Sources

WireByte Staff — Editorial Team

The WireByte editorial team synthesises technology news from multiple primary sources, verifies the facts, and links every source. Articles are produced with AI assistance and reviewed under our editorial policy.