France and Saudi Arabia Building $7B Dragon Ball Z Theme Park

France and Saudi Arabia are building a $7 billion Dragon Ball Z theme park outside Paris, with construction expected to generate roughly 22,000 jobs. The announcement came during Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to Paris on August 23.

This marks the second major Dragon Ball Z theme park in the works—the first is already under construction in Qiddiya City, Saudi Arabia. The Paris-area project represents a significant bet on anime's staying power as a global entertainment draw, and a notable shift in how major franchises are being monetized beyond screens and merchandise.

The scale is staggering. Seven billion dollars places this in the upper tier of theme park investments globally. For context, that's the kind of budget typically reserved for entirely new resort destinations, not single-property attractions. The job creation figure—22,000 positions—suggests a sprawling complex with hotels, restaurants, retail, and attractions, not just rides.

What's striking is the geopolitical angle. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has been aggressively diversifying the kingdom's economy and positioning itself as an entertainment hub. Hosting the Esports World Cup and now anchoring two massive anime parks signals a deliberate strategy to compete for global leisure spending. France's participation suggests the project has cleared significant regulatory and political hurdles—theme parks of this scale don't happen without government alignment.

Dragon Ball Z remains one of the most recognizable anime franchises worldwide, with multigenerational appeal that extends well beyond anime fandom. That's the calculus here: a property with enough cultural penetration to justify a seven-figure investment and enough longevity to sustain it.

The Paris location is strategic too. Cergy-Pontoise, the designated area, sits northwest of the capital and already hosts major attractions. Proximity to Europe's largest tourism market makes the economics work.

Neither timeline nor specific details about attractions have been disclosed yet. But the sheer commitment of capital and political will suggests this isn't vaporware. When two governments and a sovereign wealth fund align on a project this size, it tends to move forward.

Source: IGN