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€6 billion Dragon Ball Park
France and Saudi Arabia signed a memorandum of understanding for a €6 billion ($7 billion) investment to create three theme parks near Paris, with one expected to be manga-themed and built near Cergy-Pontoise, about 30 kilometres northwest of Paris.
“France and Saudi Arabia have agreed to build a €6 billion ($7 billion) manga-themed amusement park near Paris”
Reuters said the project will be inspired by Dragon Ball Z and will be built near Cergy-Pontoise, northwest of Paris, and is expected to create around 22,000 jobs.
The Elysee Palace said the project was agreed during Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Paris, where he appeared alongside French President Emmanuel Macron at the closing ceremony of the Esports World Cup in Paris on Sunday.
France 24 reported that the investment will see construction of three amusement parks near Cergy-Pontoise and that Macron on X hailed the announcement as a "new global destination".
The French presidency said the parks will be built and opened in stages, with construction expected to take several years and no opening date given.
Macron, unions, and MBS
France 24 said the agreement was signed during a two-day visit to France by Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and that the project "stemmed from a discussion" between Macron and the crown prince in Riyadh in December 2024 about their shared passion for manga, "and in particular Dragon Ball Z".
Reuters reported that the idea was born after Macron and the Saudi crown prince discovered a shared enthusiasm for Dragon Ball Z during Macron’s visit to Saudi Arabia in 2025, and that Qiddiya will finance the project.
The French presidential office said Macron hailed the attractions as a "new global destination" and that the project would be a "colossal" undertaking, while France 24 noted three journalists’ unions protested against France hosting the Saudi strongman known by his initials "MBS".
In a joint statement, the SNJ-CGT, CFDT-Journalistes and SGJ-FO unions said the visit "looks like a provocation for defenders of media freedom and freedom of expression".
France 24 also described the unions’ reference to a live French investigation for torture and forced disappearance after a complaint lodged in 2021 over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Jobs, staging, and scrutiny
France 24 said the parks are expected to create some 22,000 direct jobs, compared with around 20,000 generated by Disneyland Paris, and that the Élysée said the parks would be built and opened in stages over several years without an opening date.
“The investment will see the construction of three theme parks near Cergy-Pontoise”
Reuters said no opening date has been set and construction is expected to take several years, while also noting that the project would include three different theme parks with key details still to be settled.
The Geekiary described the project as estimated to cost almost $7 billion USD and said the near-Paris location would be near Cergy-Pontoise, while also stating that the first Dragon Ball-themed destination was announced to be constructed in Qiddiya City back in 2024.
The Guardian framed the wider stakes for European retailers by saying the scrutiny follows after a fire at a factory that supplied them killed at least 33 garment workers in Bangladesh, and it quoted Clean Clothes Campaign spokesperson Ineke Zeldenrust saying the audit system was "fundamentally broken".
In the same Reuters account of the theme park plan, the Elysee said the project is expected to create around 22,000 jobs, and the French presidency described it as evidence that France remains a magnet for foreign investment.