France and Saudi Arabia signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday for a €6 billion ($7 billion) investment to build three theme parks near Paris, one likely inspired by Japanese manga. The agreement was sealed during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit. What does the project actually deliver — and what questions remain unanswered?
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Key Takeaways by Planet Today
Economic Scale: The €6 billion commitment ranks among the largest single foreign leisure investments in France since Disneyland Paris, with official estimates of 22,000 direct jobs and additional housing and hospitality infrastructure.
Strategic Context: The deal fits Saudi Vision 2030 diversification goals while giving France a high-profile foreign investment win amid subdued domestic growth.
Shared Personal Angle: Officials trace the idea to a conversation between Emmanuel Macron and Mohammed bin Salman about their mutual interest in Dragon Ball Z, illustrating how personal rapport can accelerate large-scale projects.
Open Questions: Timeline, exact themes for all three parks, environmental impact assessments, local transport capacity, and the degree of public consultation remain unsettled.
Broader Implications: The project highlights the growing role of Gulf sovereign capital in European tourism and entertainment, raising both opportunity and scrutiny around governance and soft-power dynamics.
On Monday, 24 August 2026, the Élysée Palace confirmed that France and Saudi Arabia had signed a memorandum of understanding covering a Saudi investment of six billion euros — roughly seven billion dollars — to develop three theme parks near Paris. One of the parks is expected to draw on Japanese manga, with Dragon Ball Z frequently mentioned in briefings. The agreement was formalised during a two-day visit by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman.
The announcement lands at a moment when both countries are actively seeking concrete economic deliverables. For Riyadh, it advances the leisure and tourism pillar of Vision 2030. For Paris, it offers a visible foreign-investment success story at a time when French growth forecasts remain modest. The project will occupy the long-abandoned Mirapolis site in Courdimanche, Val-d’Oise, roughly thirty kilometres northwest of the capital near Cergy-Pontoise.
What the Official Record Shows
According to the French presidency, the memorandum was signed by Economy Minister Roland Lescure and Abdullah Al-Dawood, director general of Qiddiya Investment Company, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). Construction is expected to stretch over several years; no opening date has been set. Officials project around 22,000 direct jobs. Housing for workers and students, hotels, and restaurants form part of the broader development plan. The site is also expected to free approximately 50,000 square metres for green space and biodiversity measures.
Macron described the agreement on X as “an announcement unlike any other… the likes of which we have not seen since Disneyland Paris.” He publicly referenced his own interest in manga and thanked Qiddiya and Saudi Arabia for their confidence in France. Advisers later told reporters that the concept first surfaced during a conversation in Riyadh in late 2024 or 2025, when the two leaders discovered a shared enthusiasm for Dragon Ball Z.
Qiddiya already oversees a large entertainment city near Riyadh that includes a Dragon Ball-themed park, a Six Flags attraction, a Formula 1 circuit, and other leisure facilities. The French project is framed as an extension of that expertise rather than a pure replica.
Primary reporting comes from the Élysée statement itself, carried by Reuters, Bloomberg, Politico, and multiple French outlets citing AFP. The figures — €6 billion, 22,000 jobs, three parks — are consistent across these sources.
Mainstream Coverage: Jobs, Soft Power, and Economic Diversification
Most major international and French media have presented the deal in largely positive or neutral terms focused on scale and employment. Reuters and Bloomberg emphasised the size of the investment and its place within Saudi efforts to reduce oil dependence. French outlets such as Les Echos and Le Figaro highlighted comparisons with Euro Disney and the potential revitalisation of a long-dormant site that first opened in 1987 and closed in 1991.
Regional authorities in Île-de-France had been involved in discussions for more than a year. Valérie Pécresse, president of the region, publicly described the project as being “on the scale of Disneyland” in the days leading up to the signing. Business-oriented coverage also noted that Qiddiya opened a Paris office and that French companies already hold substantial investments in Saudi Arabia — estimated at €16.3 billion across more than 650 licences according to Saudi investment data released the same day.
The narrative that emerges from these reports is straightforward: France attracts capital, Saudi Arabia expands its global leisure footprint, and a shared cultural interest in manga provides a convenient human storyline. Job creation numbers are repeated without extensive caveats, and the absence of a fixed construction timetable is noted but not dwelt upon.
Local and Alternative Perspectives: Questions of Process, Impact, and Governance
Not every reaction has been celebratory. Local residents and some elected officials in the Val-d’Oise have raised practical concerns. Interviews with people living near the former Mirapolis site, reported by RTL and France 3, mention worries about already-strained RER A capacity, parking, and the suitability of a large-scale leisure complex next to residential neighbourhoods. One resident noted that earlier community ideas for the land leaned toward housing or care facilities rather than another theme park.
Opposition politicians have pointed to the opacity of the negotiations. Aurélien Taché, a France Unbowed (LFI) deputy representing the area, stated that he had not been informed of the discussions and would scrutinise the environmental and social conditions. A regional opposition group questioned whether the project fits within the existing Île-de-France development schema and whether residents would have meaningful input.
On the broader political front, French journalists’ unions criticised the reception given to Mohammed bin Salman, calling the visit a provocation in light of ongoing concerns over press freedom and the unresolved judicial case related to the 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi. Reporters Without Borders and other organisations have long tracked the Saudi record on media and human-rights issues. These critiques sit alongside the economic announcement rather than directly targeting the theme-park project itself, yet they form part of the wider public conversation about closer Franco-Saudi ties.
Environmental questions remain open. Officials have mentioned the creation of green space, but detailed impact studies, water use, and transport modelling have not been released with the memorandum. Construction of a complex on this scale will inevitably alter local ecosystems and traffic patterns; how those effects are measured and mitigated will become clearer only as planning documents appear.
The Saudi Side: Vision 2030 in Practice
From Riyadh’s perspective the project is consistent with a multi-year push to build global entertainment assets. Qiddiya’s domestic development near the capital already includes a Dragon Ball park under licence from Toei Animation. Exporting a version of that concept to Europe fits the strategy of using soft-power cultural projects to support economic diversification and international branding.
Saudi officials have repeatedly framed such investments as commercially driven rather than purely political. At the same time, large sovereign-fund projects inevitably carry geopolitical weight. France, like other European countries, has balanced commercial opportunity against periodic public criticism of Saudi domestic policies. The Élysée’s response to questions about human-rights concerns has been that France is the beneficiary of the investment and that the project should be judged on its economic merits.
Bilateral economic data released during the visit show expanding French presence in Saudi Arabia across energy, tourism (including AlUla), defence, and emerging technology sectors. The theme-park deal is therefore one visible element of a wider relationship rather than an isolated transaction.
Historical Parallel: Mirapolis Then and Now
The chosen location carries its own history. Mirapolis opened in 1987 as France’s first major theme park, themed around French legends and literature, and featured a giant statue of Gargantua. It closed only four years later after financial difficulties. The site has remained largely unused for more than three decades. Reviving it with modern infrastructure and international intellectual property represents both continuity and a sharp break from the original concept.
Whether a manga-driven destination can succeed where a French-heritage park failed will depend on execution, marketing, transport links, and competition from Disneyland Paris and Parc Astérix. Theme-park economics are unforgiving; attendance, pricing, and operating costs will determine long-term viability far more than the size of the initial capital outlay.
What Remains Unknown
Several material details are still missing. The precise themes of the second and third parks have not been disclosed. The division of roles between Qiddiya, French public authorities, and any private operators is not yet public. Financing structure beyond the headline figure — equity versus debt, guarantees, tax arrangements — has not been detailed. Construction sequencing and the expected visitor capacity are likewise absent from official statements.
These gaps are normal at the memorandum-of-understanding stage. Binding contracts, environmental permits, and detailed master plans typically follow later. Readers should treat the current announcement as a statement of intent rather than a finished project schedule.
Wider Context and Related Reading
Large-scale Gulf investment in European infrastructure and leisure is not new, yet each major project invites fresh examination of risk allocation, labour standards, and long-term ownership. Similar questions arise in other sectors where sovereign capital plays a growing role. For readers interested in the intersection of geopolitics and economic strategy, related coverage on Planet Today includes analysis of shifting investment patterns and regional power dynamics:
- Trump’s Mystery Beef Deal: 300,000 Tons at 25% Below Market — an examination of opaque large-scale commodity arrangements
- Russia Claims UK Thwarts Peace by Sharing SCALP Missile Tech with Ukraine — ongoing geopolitical friction and its economic spill-overs
- Ajit Doval Beijing Visit: India-China Border Talks Before BRICS Summit — diplomacy as a driver of commercial opportunity
These pieces illustrate how capital, diplomacy, and public narrative interact across different theatres.
Looking Ahead
The memorandum signed on 24 August 2026 converts a private conversation about manga into a multi-billion-euro development framework. If the project proceeds roughly as outlined, the Val-d’Oise will host one of Europe’s largest new leisure complexes within the next decade. Whether it becomes a durable economic asset or a high-profile case study in the challenges of foreign-led mega-projects will depend on execution details that have yet to be published.
Mainstream reporting has focused on the headline numbers and the personal chemistry between the two leaders. Local voices and critical outlets have focused on process, environmental capacity, and the broader political company France keeps. Both sets of observations are grounded in verifiable statements and documented history. Readers can weigh the employment projections against the unanswered questions about governance, transport, and long-term public benefit.
The deal is real. The scale is large. The outcome is still unwritten.
Original source: Élysée Palace statement, 24 August 2026, as reported by Reuters and multiple AFP-sourced outlets including Gulf News. Full primary confirmation available via French presidential communications and contemporaneous coverage in Politico Europe, Bloomberg, and Les Echos.
Disclaimer for fact-checkers: This article draws exclusively from publicly reported statements by the Élysée Palace, Qiddiya representatives, and contemporaneous mainstream and regional reporting dated 24 August 2026 and the preceding weeks. Job and investment figures are those released by French authorities; independent verification of final costs and employment outcomes will only be possible after construction begins and operating data become available. No confidential or non-public documents are cited.