Paris is set to become home to three new theme parks, funded by Saudi Arabia in a deal worth €6 billion, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday. The project, described as "unprecedented" by Macron, will be located near Cergy-Pontoise, about 30 kilometres north-west of the French capital.
The announcement came during a two-day visit by Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who met Macron in Paris. The French presidency said the parks would be built in stages, with construction expected to take several years, though no opening date was given.
A shared passion for manga
According to an adviser to Macron, the idea for the parks emerged from a conversation between the two leaders in Riyadh in December 2024, where they discovered a "shared passion" for manga, "and more specifically Dragon Ball Z". The first park is expected to be dedicated to the iconic Japanese franchise, although this has not been officially confirmed. The themes of the other two parks remain undisclosed.
Macron took to X to celebrate the deal, writing: "22,000 jobs created. Unseen since Disneyland Paris. A new global destination." He thanked Saudi Arabia and Qiddiya, a subsidiary of the country's Public Investment Fund, for their confidence in France.
The project is part of Macron's "Choose France" initiative, which aims to attract foreign investment. Since its launch in 2018, the programme has announced more than 230 projects, representing some €87 billion and thousands of jobs, according to the Élysée. France has been the top destination for foreign investment in Europe for seven consecutive years, according to consultancy EY, though the number of projects fell by 17% last year to 852.
Criticism and controversy
The visit by Mohammed bin Salman has drawn sharp criticism in France. Three journalists' unions protested against the decision to host him, citing a French investigation into allegations of torture and enforced disappearance linked to the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi, a Saudi national and critic of the ruling family, was assassinated in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. US intelligence concluded that the crown prince was directly involved in the killing, and a UN investigation described it as an "extrajudicial killing for which Saudi Arabia is responsible".
When asked about entrusting such a project to Riyadh despite its human rights record, the presidency sidestepped the issue, saying: "At no point, when we attract a project, do we seek to lecture others."
Macron had already met the crown prince in December 2021, becoming one of the first Western leaders to do so after Khashoggi's assassination. The prince has since made several visits to France, though he rarely travels abroad except for international summits.
During the visit, two other contracts were signed with French companies: one with shipping firm CMA CGM to help develop the port of Jeddah on the Red Sea, worth $434 million, and another with rail group Alstom to supply metro trains for Riyadh's metro, worth $580 million.
The Saudi crown prince's visit also included attendance at the closing ceremony of the Esports World Cup in Paris on Sunday, an event that had been relocated from Riyadh. Talks on Monday were also set to cover strategic issues, including the situation in the Middle East.
The theme park project is one of the largest foreign investments in France in recent years, and it underscores the deepening ties between Paris and Riyadh, despite ongoing concerns over human rights and regional security. For Macron, it is a chance to showcase France's appeal to global investors, even as critics question the ethics of such partnerships.
