LOOKS FUN: The Theme Park at the Heart of France’s Culture War.

In a historical theme park set among the wheat fields of rural western France, Viking boats and pianos emerge from ponds, and knights ride on horseback. Now France’s most popular theme park after Disneyland’s sites near Paris, it has opened an outpost in Spain and aims to build one in England soon.

But many in France hate the park, called the Puy du Fou.

Critics have called it a peddler of “far-right propaganda,” an accusation that has gained in resonance as ultraconservatives edge closer to power for the first time since World War II. The critics accuse it of weaponizing history to popularize the values of its founder, Philippe de Villiers, a former lawmaker who supports far-right politicians and has long campaigned against the European Union, Islam, gay marriage and immigration.

He recently wrote that the park is part of a larger “cultural battle” for the country’s soul, and that “cultural victories precede political victories.” But his son Nicolas, who has run the park since 2012, said his only ambition is “to create shows that make people love France,” adding, “For me, that is my only cultural battle.”

Is all the fun stuff “right wing” now? Sure seems like it.