The economic partnership between Riyadh and Paris continues to strengthen, following the announcement by French President Emmanuel Macron of a 6 billion euro investment by the Saudi monarchy to finance three theme parks near Paris. It has already been confirmed that one of these will be Dragon Ball-themed and will occupy the site of an abandoned park.
The French presidency reported that the agreement for this “colossal” project was signed during the two-day visit to France of the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. The investment includes the construction of three theme parks near Cergy-Pontoise, about 30 kilometers northwest of Paris.
The project “was born from a conversation between the President of the Republic and the Crown Prince in December 2024” in Riyadh, when they discovered their “shared passion” for manga “and in particular for Dragon Ball Z”, according to a statement to AFP by an advisor to Emmanuel Macron.
“You know my interest in manga. You also know my determination to attract to France investments that create jobs and make the most ambitious projects possible,” Macron said.
It had already leaked a month ago that Saudi capital would be involved in the reconstruction of an old amusement park, but the confirmation goes further. Macron and the Saudi prince formalized the mega agreement this Monday, which includes three parks and would translate into 22,000 jobs for the region. The project will be managed by the investment company Qiddiya, a subsidiary of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.
The project includes the development of three theme parks, along with accommodation and restaurant services, as well as the construction of housing, especially for young professionals and students. “An extraordinary announcement… unprecedented since Disneyland Paris,” Macron declared on X, referring to the mega park opened in 1992.
The project, as it has been made public, includes the remodeling of the old Mirapolis site, another amusement park closed since 1991. Construction is expected to free up 50,000 square meters of green areas dedicated to biodiversity. Its promoters claim they intend to make it an “exemplary” project from an environmental point of view and a development engine both for the region and the French tourist destination.
Mirapolis, one of the first theme parks in France based on French legends and tales, opened its doors in 1987. In its first year, it attracted only 800,000 visitors, compared to the more than 2 million expected. Faced with competition from the opening of Parc Astérix, it closed permanently in 1991, after just four years of operation. The park was known for its giant statue of Gargantua, the literary character by François Rabelais.
L’Echo Touristique speculates on how competing parks view the arrival of this super complex. “This news will undoubtedly attract the attention of the main French and European players in the sector. During the summer, the president of Puy du Fou, Nicolas De Villiers, repeatedly expressed his criticisms of the project. Parc Astérix, located about 50 kilometers from the future complex, could also see a new competitor with vast resources trying to attract its own clientele,” the specialized media indicates.
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The new park could even overshadow Disneyland Paris, it adds. The Marne-la-Vallée complex, the undisputed leader in the sector in Europe since its opening, has invested, by comparison, 2 billion euros in the transformation and expansion of its second park, renamed Disney Adventure World.
The president’s office has already confirmed that one of the parks is expected to be dedicated to Dragon Ball. The themes of the other two have not yet been revealed. The parks will be built and opened in stages, and construction is expected to last several years, according to the Élysée Palace, without specifying an opening date.
When asked about the decision to entrust a project of this magnitude to Saudi Arabia, despite criticism of its human rights record, the French government stated: “At no time, when attracting a project, do we intend to lecture others.”
In recent years, the economic relationship between France and Saudi Arabia has been tightening, with sectors such as Artificial Intelligence developing. French investment in the Middle Eastern country is expanding beyond traditional sectors, such as energy and manufacturing, into areas like AI, digital infrastructure, culture, and mining, according to a report on investment relations between the two countries.
The report published on Monday, which coincided with the presidency of Saudi Investment Minister Fahad Al-Saif at the Franco-Saudi investment roundtable held in Paris, revealed that France was the fourth largest source of accumulated foreign direct investment in Saudi Arabia in 2024.
French investment reached approximately 16.3 billion euros, distributed across 18 sectors and 651 investment licenses. Among the main French companies operating in Saudi Arabia are TotalEnergies, AXA, EDF, Accor, and Thales.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) invested approximately 7.36 billion euros in France between 2017 and 2024, helping to maintain about 29,000 jobs in the country. A memorandum of understanding on financing worth approximately 8.56 billion euros between the PIF (one of the largest sovereign funds in the world) and the French public investment bank Bpifrance also lays the groundwork for greater cooperation in investments, details Arab News.
This transformation, the Saudi media points out, is taking place as both countries commemorate a century of diplomatic relations dating back to 1926, and investment is becoming an increasingly important pillar of their broader strategic partnership.
