Saudi announces Dragon Ball Z Theme Park in France
- Arab Game News Staff
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
France and Saudi Arabia have agreed to build a €6 billion ($7 billion) manga-themed amusement park near Paris, the Elysee Palace said on Monday during a visit by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the French capital.
The project, inspired by the world of the hit Japanese manga and anime franchise Dragon Ball Z, will be built near Cergy-Pontoise, northwest of Paris, and is expected to create around 22,000 jobs, the Elysee said.
The idea was born after French President Emmanuel Macron and the Saudi crown prince discovered a shared enthusiasm for Dragon Ball Z during Macron’s visit to Saudi Arabia in 2025, Macron's advisers said.
Saudi entertainment and investment group Qiddiya will finance the project, which forms part of the kingdom’s push to diversify its economy beyond oil and expand its global footprint in the leisure industry.
No opening date has been set for what would be one of Europe’s largest theme park developments, with construction expected to take several years.
Bin Salman, who owns a chateau near Paris, is making a rare official trip abroad and appeared alongside Macron at the closing ceremony of the Esports World Cup in Paris on Sunday.
French officials cast the Dragon Ball Z project as evidence that France remains a magnet for foreign investment, though key details for the sprawling development that would include three different theme parks are yet to be settled.
This announcement comes after the earlier confirmation of a Dragon Ball Theme Park in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Part of the Qiddiya City project, which also includes Six Flags Qiddiya City, Aquarabia, a Speed Park Track, a golf course, major sports facilities, and a dedicated gaming and esports neighbourhood, the Dragon Ball Theme Park was announced in March 2024.
The theme park in Qiddiya City is being developed through a long-term strategic partnership between QIC and Toei Animation, the Japanese company behind the Dragon Ball anime. The project has been officially described as the world's first Dragon Ball theme park. The park is intended to cover the entire Dragon Ball franchise, rather than focusing exclusively on Dragon Ball Z. Qiddiya specifically says the experience will span from the original Dragon Ball series through Dragon Ball Super.
The original Qiddiya City Dragon Ball park is already under development near Riyadh and is planned to cover more than 500,000 square metres, with seven themed areas, 30+ attractions and a roughly 70-metre-long Shenron roller coaster.
The Paris announcement doesn't indicate that Qiddiya is abandoning that project. In fact, the new French development is being financed and led by Qiddiya Investment Company, suggesting that the two projects are seen as part of the same broader entertainment strategy.
However, Qiddiya originally marketed its Saudi park as the world's first Dragon Ball theme park. If the France project ultimately contains a full-scale Dragon Ball Z theme park, Qiddiya will effectively have two Dragon Ball destinations. That doesn't necessarily undermine the Saudi attraction. The company can position Riyadh as the original flagship Dragon Ball destination, while Paris becomes the franchise's European destination.
There's also an important point that the Saudi park covers the wider Dragon Ball franchise, from the original series through Dragon Ball Super, whereas the French announcement has so far specifically been described as a Dragon Ball Z-themed park. This could mean that both experiences are substantially different from each other.
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