They put it on paper. France and Saudi Arabia just welcomed a Qiddiya entertainment destination in Cergy-Pontoise, and the number sitting next to it is about €6 billion. Last night this was still a "waiting on the signature" rumor. This morning it is in the Élysée joint statement (posted 25 August 2026, 9:55 Paris time).
The official wording is a little more careful than the headlines. Both countries welcome Qiddiya Investment Company's ambition to build a mixed-use, multi-park destination in the Île-de-France region, with entertainment, hotels, culture, and sport. Current ambitions include up to three major entertainment anchors plus hotels and other leisure, around €6 billion over the life of the project. That is the ink. Not ride names. Not an opening year.
Macron went louder in a separate line that Blooloop and Le Monde ran this morning: in Cergy-Pontoise, three theme parks, 22,000 jobs, nothing like this since Disneyland Paris. His office also said one of those parks is planned as manga-themed. The joint statement itself does not name Dragon Ball. The manga/Dragon Ball talk is still the origin story from that December 2024 Riyadh conversation, not a licensed IP announcement.
So yeah. New parks on the map northwest of Paris, Saudi money, Qiddiya running it, and Europe might actually get a manga park. I cannot wait to see which IPs survive the paperwork. Construction is years out. No date yet!