France and Saudi Arabia have signed a memorandum of understanding for a 6 billion euro, roughly 7 billion dollar, investment to build three theme parks near Paris, with one park expected to be themed around the manga and anime franchise Dragon Ball. The agreement was signed during a two day visit to France by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with the office of French President Emmanuel Macron describing the overall project as colossal in scale.
The parks will be built near Cergy-Pontoise, roughly 30 kilometers northwest of Paris, close to Disneyland Paris, and are expected to create around 22,000 jobs. The investment site previously housed Mirapolis, France’s first theme park, which opened in 1987 with Saudi funding before eventually closing due to financial difficulties. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, through its entertainment and investment subsidiary Qiddiya, will finance the project as part of the kingdom’s continued push to diversify its economy beyond oil and expand its global footprint in the leisure industry.
According to advisers to Macron, the idea for the Dragon Ball themed component originated after Macron and the Saudi crown prince discovered a shared enthusiasm for the franchise during Macron’s earlier visit to Saudi Arabia. Macron described the overall project as unprecedented in scale since the opening of Disneyland Paris, while publicly noting his own interest in manga. The two leaders had also appeared together at the closing ceremony of the Esports World Cup in Paris one day before the theme park agreement was formally announced.
Qiddiya is already developing what is described as the world’s first dedicated Dragon Ball theme park in Saudi Arabia, a 500,000 square meter project near Riyadh featuring seven themed zones following the franchise’s storyline from the original Dragon Ball series through Dragon Ball Super, with more than 30 planned attractions. No opening date has been set for the new Paris area development, and French officials have said key details surrounding the project, including specific rides and designs, still need to be finalized as construction moves forward over the coming years.
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