Saudi Arabia to build 3 amusement parks in France for billions: "Nothing like this since Disneyland"

On the eve of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to Paris, French President Macron announced a massive project to build three amusement parks with Saudi funding, estimated at 6 billion euros. One of the parks will be dedicated to the Japanese franchise "Dragon Ball." Macron claimed there has been no such project since Disneyland Paris, and that it is expected to create 22,000 jobs.

French President Emmanuel Macron hosted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Paris and announced a "massive" project to build three amusement parks near the French capital, with Saudi funding estimated at 6 billion euros. One of the parks will be dedicated to the popular Japanese franchise "Dragon Ball." Macron declared that the "unprecedented" deal will lead to the creation of 22,000 new jobs, and claimed that "nothing like this has happened since Disneyland Paris." The project was born, according to an advisor to Macron, from a conversation between the two leaders in December 2024 in Riyadh, where they shared a common passion for manga and especially the Dragon Ball Z series. The park may be built in the Cordimansh area, where the "Mirapolis" park once operated. The themes for the other two parks have not been announced. In light of criticism over entrusting the project to Saudi Arabia amid human rights abuses, Paris emphasized that France will be the beneficiary of the deal and that "we did not come to preach to others."