It is an "unprecedented" project, Emmanuel Macron said. On Monday 24 August, France and Saudi Arabia signed a letter regarding a six-billion-euro investment to create three theme parks near Cergy-Pontoise, around 30 kilometres north-west of Paris, the French president's office announced.
The announcement about this "colossal" project was made during a two-day visit to France by Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Macron's office said.
"22,000 jobs created. Unseen since Disneyland Paris. A new global destination", the president of the Republic wrote on X, thanking Saudi Arabia and Qiddiya, one of the many subsidiaries of the country's Public Investment Fund, "for their confidence in our country, in our talents and in our future".
This project "was born out of a discussion between the president of the Republic and the crown prince in December 2024" in Riyadh, where they discovered their "shared passion" for manga, "and more specifically Dragon Ball Z", an adviser to Emmanuel Macron told the press.
The first of the three parks is expected to be dedicated to this iconic Japanese franchise, although this has not been officially confirmed. The themes of the other two parks have not yet been revealed.
