The president rolled out the grand formula on X. “Never seen since Disneyland Paris.” Six billion in Saudi investments. Twenty-two thousand direct jobs. A “new global destination” in Cergy-Pontoise. The buzz followed, naturally. RFI, Le Monde, franceinfo, Figaro: everyone picked up the refrain. And the Dragon Ball manga did the rest. A shared passion discovered in December 2024 in Riyadh, apparently. Who would have thought Goku would become a diplomatic argument? The facts, first. On Monday, August 24, 2026, during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the Élysée, a memorandum of understanding was signed. Led by Qiddiya Investment Company, a subsidiary of the sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund. Three leisure parks near Cergy-Pontoise, in the Val-d’Oise, on the former Mirapolis site in Courdimanche. That French park opened in 1987 and closed in 1991 after a resounding flop. One of the three is expected to draw on the universe of manga, most likely Dragon Ball. The other two themes remain in the fog. Hotels, dining, cultural and sports facilities, housing, green spaces: the package is broad. The announced investment is around six billion euros over the development cycle. The 22,000 direct jobs are a presidential estimate, close to the workforce of Disneyland Paris.[[1]](https://www.rfi.fr/fr/france/20260824-du-jamais-vu-depuis-disneyland-la-france-et-l-arabie-saoudite-vont-cr%C3%A9er-trois-parcs-d-attractions-pr%C3%A8s-de-paris) The origin boils down to a conversation. In late 2024 in Riyadh, Macron and MBS discovered a shared passion for manga, “notably Dragon Ball Z.” The Saudi fund wanted to export its parks. France proposed sites. Cergy-Pontoise won for its connectivity and its relative proximity to Disneyland. The idea: make the tourist stay longer. One day Disney, one day Shenron, one day Eiffel Tower. Discussions had already leaked in the summer of 2026. Politico and others had dug around. The Élysée made it official. Valérie Pécresse spoke of a file worked on for eighteen months.[[2]](https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2026/08/24/l-arabie-saoudite-prevoit-d-investir-6-milliards-d-euros-pour-creer-trois-parcs-d-attractions-pres-de-paris-annonce-emmanuel-macron67556203211.html) What is solid: the protocol exists. Primary sources – the Élysée, cross-checked statements, AFP – agree. Qiddiya already has a Dragon Ball park under construction in Saudi Arabia, with a Toei license. The French version could benefit from it. Ancillary contracts were also signed the same day: nearly one billion euros with Alstom for metro trains in Riyadh and an assembly plant, plus CMA CGM for a terminal at the port of Jeddah. The visit was not just a manga selfie.[[3]](https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2026/08/24/l-arabie-saoudite-signe-des-contrats-pour-le-developpement-du-port-de-djedda-avec-cma-cgm-et-pour-le-metro-de-riyad-avec-alstom67557243210.html) What is still speculation, or posturing. No date for the first shovel, no opening date. “Several years,” it is said. The exact themes of the other two parks? Silence. The figure of 22,000 jobs is a projection. Not a signed employment contract. The site would stretch over dozens or even more than 200 hectares, encroaching on farmland at the gates of the Vexin. Traveller families have occupied the wasteland for years. The Courdimanche town hall has asked that they not be forgotten. Local residents are split between dreams of businesses and nightmares of traffic jams on the A15 and the already saturated RER A. A local collective has been formed. “We know nothing about it,” some said. Consultation comes after the announcement. Classic.[[4]](https://www.leparisien.fr/val-d-oise-95/ils-vont-passer-par-ou-les-touristes-courdimanche-7-300-habitants-et-bientot-un-parc-dattractions-dragon-ball-26-08-2026-SKYN76SLXVGE3INY3ODKZHWU4I.php) Criticism is also flying over Saudi soft power and Riyadh’s human rights record. The Élysée replies in substance: we are not here to give lessons, France is the beneficiary. Others regret that a “French” theme was not put forward. Dragon Ball is Japanese. So be it. But the money is indeed Saudi. And the project fits into Riyadh’s Vision 2030 diversification. Entertainment, tourism, image. Meanwhile, Qiddiya City, the big Saudi sister, already has its Six Flags open at the end of 2025. CGI images are still numerous there. Deadlines sometimes slip. Noted. So, “never seen since Disneyland”? In volume of announcement and in foreign source of financing in one go, yes, the billboard effect is real. Disneyland Paris remains the benchmark. Here a multi-park complex is promised. But a memorandum of understanding is not a ticket office opening. Roller coasters do not come out of a tweet. Neither do jobs. The local contradictions – traffic, land, environment, populations already present – are on the table. The calendar blind spots too. Provisional conclusion, then. The agreement is signed, the intentions are massive, the official figures are there. The rest belongs to impact studies, final licenses, land negotiations and the long time of construction sites. Between the communiqué that takes itself for a gospel and the Mirapolis wasteland waiting for its dragon, there is still room for reality. And reality does not always have a sense of the spectacular punchline. For now, one smiles at the presidential quip. One waits to see whether Goku really lands in Courdimanche, or remains a fine diplomatic CGI image.