Last week, France and Saudi Arabia made the surprise announcement that the Paris region of France will be getting a Dragon Ball theme park. This sparked varied reactions across the internet, with many comments in Japanese expressing concern regarding licensing rights and the lack of Japanese representation. This week, Dragon Ball anime producer Toei Animation released an official announcement denying involvement in the project. So what is happening with this proposed Dragon Ball theme park in France?
In case you missed it, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman made a two-day state visit to France last month, attending the closing ceremony of the Esports World Cup in Paris alongside French president Emmanuel Macron (source: Arab News). This trip culminated in the surprise announcement of a new theme park project just outside Paris.
President of FIFA Gianni Infantino, French President Emmanuel Macron, and the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman attend the closing ceremony of the Esports World Cup at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, on August 23, 2026. Photo by Teresa SUAREZ / POOL / AFP via Getty Images.
Posting on X in French on August 25, Macron said: “With Saudi Arabia, we are making an unprecedented announcement.” The French president went on to describe the proposal as three theme parks located in Cergy-Pontoise, northwest of Paris. He cited the 6 billion euro investment and predicted 22,000 jobs created by the project as something that hadn’t been seen “since Disneyland Paris.” It will be a “new global destination — here, in France.”
In the post, Macron mentioned his personal liking of Japanese comics (“You know of my interest in manga”), however he did not directly state what themes these three parks would have. However, a later official press release by the Île-de-France region on August 31 referred directly to one of the three being “a Dragon Ball park.”
News outlets worldwide, including Japanese ones like Mainichi Shimbun, swiftly picked up the story of a Dragon Ball theme park in France. However, this sparked backlash among some Japanese language commenters amid concerns that there was no visible Japanese representation or official announcement from license holders at the time.
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Since then, Toei Animation, the studio behind the Dragon Ball anime, issued a statement regarding the park proposal, denying any prior knowledge or involvement.
“Recently, some media reports have suggested that ‘the decision has been made to build a Dragon Ball theme park in France,’ however our company (…) and relevant rights-holding companies have not granted any licences in relation to this matter, and we are not aware of any such plans,” stated Toei Animation.
Toei Animation is involved in the ongoing plan to build a Dragon Ball theme park in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh, in a strategic partnership with Qiddiya Investment Company. In this case, Toei Animation directly announced the project on its website back in 2024, alongside concept images, a video and details of the project.
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However, in its recent statement, Toei clarified that the concept images used by some news reports of a Paris park actually relate to the planned Dragon Ball theme park in Riyadh, and not to any France-based project. Although new Dragon Ball projects were announced at the 40th anniversary event in April, the rights to the franchise are complicated and involve several companies. Until further official announcements are made, it’s unclear if and when a France-based theme park featuring the late Akira Toriyama’s creations will become a reality. No opening date has been set, and construction is expected to take several years.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is an open fan of video games and anime, making increasing investments in game companies through his MiSK foundation and its subsidiaries. Through related companies, he owns King of Fighters developer SNK, plus a 10% stake in Capcom, among others. The Qiddiya Investment Company, which is involved in the Dragon Ball Riyadh theme park, is owned by the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), of which the crown prince is chairman. On August 4, an investor group composed of PIF, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners completed a $55 billion leveraged buyout of video game giant EA.
Photo by LOU BENOIST / AFP via Getty Images.
Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance writer who previously served as editor, contributor and translator for the game news site Automaton West. She has also written about Japanese culture and movies for various publications.