France and Saudi Arabia have agreed to a $7.2 billion (€6 billion) deal to build three theme parks near Paris, including one inspired by the globally beloved Japanese franchise Dragon Ball Z, French President Emmanuel Macron announced Monday evening.
In a social media post, Macron confirmed the project will be located in Cergy-Pontoise, a northwestern suburb of Paris. He said the development will create 22,000 jobs and framed it as a landmark undertaking, declaring, “Nothing like this has been seen since Disneyland Paris.”
The French president, who has publicly expressed his passion for manga, said the project is funded by Qiddiya Investment, a unit of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). Further details about the three-park development have not yet been released by the French government.
“You know my passion for manga. You also know my determination to attract to France the investments that create jobs and make the most ambitious projects possible,” Macron said in his message. He added that the project embodies the spirit of his “Choose France” initiative, which aims to lure top-tier investments to the country. “We’re not done surprising the world. Very proud of this achievement,” he concluded.
Sources from the Élysée Palace told BFMTV that the idea for a Dragon Ball theme park in France grew out of previous conversations between Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, during which the two leaders discovered a “shared passion” for manga, “particularly, Dragon Ball Z.”
The announcement comes as the crown prince is in France for an official two-day visit, which began over the weekend, as previously reported.
A Global Franchise With Deep Roots
Dragon Ball is one of the most successful and influential Japanese media franchises in history. Created by the late artist Akira Toriyama in the 1980s, the series follows the adventures of Son Goku and his friends as they search for the eponymous Dragon Balls to summon the wish-granting dragon Shenron. The series gained even greater worldwide fame with its action-packed sequel, Dragon Ball Z.
The franchise has expanded into numerous manga series, anime shows, movies, video games, and a vast array of merchandise. Toriyama passed away in 2024 at the age of 68, leaving behind a cultural legacy that continues to resonate across the globe.
This is not the first Saudi-backed Dragon Ball theme park project. In 2024, a similar project was announced for the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
Cultural Impact and Political Appeal
The franchise has also left a significant mark in regions far beyond Japan, notably in Latin America, where it began airing in the 1990s and became a cultural touchstone. Macron has shown his affinity for the series publicly; in April, during a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, the two leaders struck the series’ iconic Kamehameha pose.
The franchise even played a role in a diplomatic moment in 2018, when local authorities in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, sought to screen the final episodes of Dragon Ball Super. According to the BBC, an agreement was reached to allow a public screening of the second-to-last episode to an audience of about 15,000 people, after initial reluctance from the Japanese side.
With construction planned for the Paris suburbs and a price tag that rivals major international theme park ventures, the project is set to be a defining investment for both France and Saudi Arabia, blending geopolitics, pop culture, and economic ambition.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2026/08/25/france-saudi-arabia-agree-on-6-billion-euro-dragon-ball-z-theme-park/