Dragon Ball France: Could One of Europe’s Next Great Entertainment Destinations Rise Near Paris?

Reporting and analysis by Osama Samaha, Editor-in-Chief, oui stars Travel

A Saudi-backed plan for a vast leisure destination at Cergy-Pontoise has opened an extraordinary possibility: three major parks, hotels and complementary attractions on the former Mirapolis site northwest of Paris. The Île-de-France Region has publicly called one of them a Dragon Ball park. Yet Toei Animation says neither it nor the other rights-holder companies has granted any licence for a French Dragon Ball project. That is not a footnote. It is the central question facing a proposal that could reshape tourism in Val-d’Oise.

France has announced an ambition, not an open park

On 25 August 2026, a joint French-Saudi declaration published by the Élysée welcomed Qiddiya Investment Company’s ambition to develop a large mixed-use complex at Cergy-Pontoise. The text describes several parks, entertainment, leisure, hotels, culture and sport, with up to three flagship attractions. It speaks of roughly €6 billion over the full development cycle. It does not provide an opening date, a final masterplan or a list of licensed brands.

Six days later, the Île-de-France Region’s own press release went further. It said three parks would be created at Courdimanche and explicitly described one as devoted to the Dragon Ball universe. The Region said it had worked for 18 months on attracting the project. It presented estimates of up to 22,000 direct jobs and a combined seven million annual visits at maturity, while also qualifying those estimates as dependent on the final characteristics of the projects.

Those are official claims and projections. They are not construction results. No tickets are on sale. No official public opening date, final attraction list, commercial park name, completed financing package or approved planning dossier has been announced.

What exactly is being planned near Paris?

The most reliable description is broader than a single branded park. The Élysée calls it an integrated, mixed-use destination. That suggests a resort economy rather than a day-trip gate: parks that produce footfall, hotels that retain spending overnight, food and retail that extend the visitor day, and cultural or sporting programming that may help reduce seasonality. Qiddiya’s published ambition in France is therefore potentially closer to a district-scale destination than one isolated attraction.

But the distinction between “up to three flagship attractions” in the bilateral declaration and “three theme parks” in the Region’s release matters. It shows that public communications are not yet a final technical specification. Investors, hotel groups and local businesses should read the announcement as a development signal, not as a completed prospectus.

oui stars Travel previously examined what was confirmed in the original Saudi-Cergy investment announcement. The new issue is sharper: can the name that has come to define the project survive the licensing test?

Why Cergy-Pontoise, and why the former Mirapolis site?

Cergy-Pontoise is not an empty point on a map. The new town is a large residential, university and employment centre northwest of Paris. Its architectural identity includes Dani Karavan’s Axe Majeur, while its transport system connects it to La Défense, central Paris and several regional rail corridors. According to the Cergy-Pontoise agglomeration, the territory has 12 stations and five rail lines. It cites about 32 minutes from Cergy-Préfecture to La Défense and 42 minutes to Châtelet-Les Halles on RER A under indicative conditions.

The proposed land carries both opportunity and warning. Mirapolis opened in 1987 and closed in 1991. The Region describes the area as a brownfield left without a durable leisure use for more than three decades. A large parcel with a remembered entertainment identity is rare near a capital. Yet history also argues against assuming that scale, spectacle or location alone makes a park viable.

Planning is not starting from a blank sheet. A 2024 regional environmental authority opinion concerned an earlier hotel-residence and co-living redevelopment on parts of the former Mirapolis area. A 2025 Courdimanche public-inquiry file also discussed the site. Any new mega-project must be reconciled with land ownership, planning rules, biodiversity, water, noise, roads and the daily life of nearby residents.

Qiddiya’s role: Saudi capital meets French destination policy

Qiddiya Investment Company is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and is developing Qiddiya City outside Riyadh as a vast entertainment, sport and culture destination. That gives the company a strategic logic for the French proposal: it is exporting a destination-building ambition, not merely buying an operating hotel.

Its Dragon Ball experience, however, is geographically specific. In March 2024, Qiddiya officially announced a Dragon Ball park at Qiddiya City under a long-term partnership with Toei Animation. The Saudi announcement describes more than 500,000 square metres, seven themed zones and more than 30 rides. Those plans belong to Saudi Arabia. They are not a visual or technical preview of France.

The French project is politically important because it reverses the familiar direction of investment. French companies have long worked on Gulf tourism, infrastructure and cultural projects. Here, a Saudi developer proposes investing in France’s visitor economy. It may create construction, operating and supply-chain demand, but public authorities will still need transparent evidence about delivery, employment quality, environmental cost and infrastructure finance.

Why Dragon Ball became the name everyone remembered

A complex of hotels, leisure and sport is economically significant but linguistically abstract. Dragon Ball is immediate. Akira Toriyama’s manga began in 1984; Toei’s first television series dates from 1986. Toei Animation Europe reports more than 250 million manga copies sold worldwide, more than 30 years of continuous European broadcasting and 94% awareness among French people aged 25 to 45 in a cited franchise study. Those are Toei’s marketing figures and should be understood as such, but they help explain why the name is unusually powerful in France.

Dragon Ball is intergenerational. Adults who watched it on French television can now travel with children who know newer series, films, games or merchandise. That is valuable for a park because it combines nostalgia, family decision-making and youth culture. It can also attract European fans who might not make a long-haul trip to Saudi Arabia or Japan for a themed experience.

Precisely because the brand carries that demand, the licence cannot be treated as decoration. Without authorised characters, worlds, music, designs, storylines and trademarks, a developer does not possess the emotional product implied by the words “Dragon Ball park”.

The Japanese Question: Can You Announce a Dragon Ball Park Before You Own the Licence?

In practical terms, a public authority can describe a political or economic ambition. A developer can seek land, conduct studies and negotiate. But an entertainment destination cannot lawfully market and deliver an IP-led experience unless the relevant rights are secured for the intended uses and territory. On 31 August, Toei did more than issue a cautious “no comment”. It said neither Toei nor the other relevant rights-holder companies had granted any licence for the French matter.

The company also stated that every concept image and video used in reports came from the 22 March 2024 announcement for Qiddiya City in Saudi Arabia. This is why the image distinction matters editorially. Showing Saudi concept art beside a French headline without a prominent explanation can mislead readers into believing a French design exists.

The public record supports a careful description of the rights landscape. Shueisha’s MANGA Plus copyright page credits the original Dragon Ball manga to Bird Studio and Shueisha. Toei produced the animation and describes licensing and IP-based business as part of its corporate activity. Bandai Namco says it develops Dragon Ball games, network content, cards and figures under licence, and its products carry credits to Bird Studio, Shueisha and Toei Animation. Bandai Namco is therefore a major commercial partner around the franchise, but public sources do not establish that it alone can approve a French theme park.

Media reports have named Toei Animation, Shueisha, Bird Studio and Bandai Namco when explaining the franchise ecosystem. The exact contractual approval chain for a French attraction is not public. It would be irresponsible to guess who is negotiating with whom or whether agreement is close. The only authoritative current conclusion is that the French licence has not been granted.

Could the project continue without Dragon Ball?

Possibly, but that is analysis, not a confirmed plan. The bilateral declaration is about a wider multi-park destination and does not name Dragon Ball. This means the underlying land, hospitality and leisure concept is not textually dependent on one Japanese brand. A developer could in principle pursue a different intellectual property, create an original theme or reconfigure the phases.

Economically, however, changing the anchor would not be trivial. A global IP can lower the cost of explaining a destination, support merchandise and media partnerships, and give families a reason to travel before rides are even described. A replacement theme would need its own audience, licensing economics and creative credibility. An original park would avoid licence dependency but face a much harder brand-building task.

The most prudent interpretation is therefore two-track: the broader Cergy-Pontoise leisure proposal is real at the level of public ambition; the Dragon Ball identity remains conditional.

Beyond Dragon Ball: Why This Project Matters to French Tourism

Paris Île-de-France already operates at enormous scale. The regional tourism board reported nearly 50 million visitors and almost €24 billion in tourism economic impact in 2025. More than 23 million were international visitors, responsible for close to €16 billion. A new destination does not need to “replace Paris” to matter. It needs to lengthen stays, distribute spending and create an additional reason to choose the region.

Family tourism is especially important because the spend is spread across rooms, food, transport, retail and paid experiences. Anime and manga can add event travel, cosplay, exhibitions, tournaments, premieres and fan retail. Gulf visitors are relevant not because one market guarantees success, but because direct air connectivity to Paris and a culture of multigenerational travel can support larger room configurations, private mobility, shopping and premium services.

Youth travel could also widen the region’s product. Paris is globally legible as heritage, fashion and art. A major contemporary entertainment district could position Greater Paris as a place where Japanese popular culture, European creative industries and Gulf capital meet. That is a distinctive destination story, if the partnership is authentic and legally secure.

Hotels, restaurants and the overnight-economy test

The largest economic opportunity may sit outside the turnstiles. A day visitor buys a ticket and meals. An overnight visitor can buy several hotel nights, breakfast, dinner, transport, retail and another attraction. The proposed inclusion of hotels in the Élysée text shows that Qiddiya understands this multiplier.

Val-d’Oise had 99 hotels and 11,386 rooms on 1 January 2026, according to INSEE. Of those, 26 hotels and 5,181 rooms were rated four-star; none was five-star. That does not prove unmet luxury demand, but it highlights a positioning question. Would the resort create its own premium rooms? Would existing business hotels adapt? Could independent restaurants and local producers capture spending, or would a self-contained resort internalise most revenue?

For local entrepreneurs, the opportunity list includes family restaurants, halal and international dining, late-night food, event catering, laundry, maintenance, security, multilingual staffing, coach operations, accessible transport and destination management. The risk is overbuilding on projections before phasing, seasonality and visitor conversion are demonstrated.

Mobility will decide whether “near Paris” feels near

Cergy-Pontoise is connected, but a resort-scale audience is not the same as current commuter demand. The agglomeration’s 2025-2030 mobility plan notes that rail service is concentrated in the central and northern parts of the territory and that the south and west lack rail coverage. The precise connection between stations and the former Mirapolis land will therefore matter.

Families arrive with luggage, pushchairs and different accessibility needs. International visitors need intuitive ticketing, late services and simple transfers from airports and central Paris. Staff need reliable early and late shifts. Roads, coaches, taxis, ride-hailing, parking, cycling and pedestrian routes must be planned as one system.

A park that adds millions of trips without funded capacity would transfer part of its cost to residents. A well-designed mobility package could do the opposite, improving everyday connections and opening investment around stations. The transport plan should be treated as core attraction infrastructure, not a later municipal problem.

Employment: headline numbers need an occupational map

The Region’s projection of up to 22,000 direct jobs is one of the announcement’s most consequential figures, and one of the figures most dependent on final project definition. Public debate should ask what “direct” includes, over what period, at which phases and under which operating assumptions.

Construction would create demand for engineering, project management, architecture, landscaping and specialist ride systems. Operations would require technicians, performers, food staff, housekeepers, revenue managers, security, gardeners, retail teams, digital product specialists and multilingual guest-service workers. Hotels create a different employment structure from rides, while event programming can add seasonal peaks.

The investment case improves if training begins before opening. CY Cergy Paris Université, vocational schools, hospitality institutions and employers could design apprenticeships around safety, maintenance, hospitality languages, data, accessibility and creative production. Jobs should be measured not only by count but by pay, permanence, progression, local recruitment and working-time quality.

Property demand: opportunity without automatic windfalls

A sustained employment and visitor hub can affect housing, serviced accommodation, retail rents and development around transport nodes. Yet property consequences depend on delivery, not press-release scale. Speculators should not translate an unbuilt proposal into guaranteed appreciation.

Local government will need to protect residential supply if short-term accommodation expands. Worker housing and late-shift transport are part of the tourism model. Commercial landlords may see demand from food, convenience retail and leisure suppliers, but independent operators need rents compatible with seasonal cash flow.

For a wider view of how infrastructure, regulation and tourism demand interact with property value, see oui stars Travel’s analysis of French real estate as a long-term asset. In Cergy-Pontoise, patience is essential: planning risk, construction phasing and brand uncertainty remain unusually high.

Complementing Disneyland Paris, not copying it

Disneyland Paris demonstrates what a destination-scale leisure investment can contribute, but it also shows how long the ecosystem takes to mature. Disney reports more than 375 million visits since 1992, €84.5 billion contributed to the French economy and €9.1 billion invested, according to its FY2025 fact sheet. These are company figures, but they establish the order of magnitude and duration involved.

Cergy-Pontoise would sit on the opposite side of the capital. A Japanese popular-culture anchor, additional themes, sport and entertainment could serve audiences and trip patterns different from Disney’s. Visitors might combine the Louvre, Disneyland, Cergy and other French attractions over a longer stay rather than choose only one. Tour operators could build multi-centre family itineraries.

Competition would still exist for labour, hotel nights, transport capacity and family budgets. Complementarity is not automatic. It would require distinct creative positioning, coordinated regional marketing and a guest experience strong enough to justify extra travel time.

Environment and social licence are part of the investment

A project of this size would face scrutiny over soil, water, energy, biodiversity, noise, traffic, waste and carbon. The words “brownfield regeneration” do not remove environmental obligations. Nor does promised employment cancel residents’ right to consultation.

The former Mirapolis history makes public trust especially important. Authorities should publish the planning route, environmental studies, transport responsibilities, land arrangements and phasing as they become available. Local businesses need procurement visibility. Residents need credible answers about congestion and construction impacts. Rights holders need confidence that their IP will be represented to agreed quality and cultural standards.

For Qiddiya, strong consultation would be strategic, not cosmetic. Its French reputation may be shaped by whether it treats Cergy-Pontoise as a partner destination or simply a site.

What investors and tourism companies should watch next

• A signed and publicly acknowledged Dragon Ball licensing agreement for France, if one is reached.
• A final masterplan identifying the three anchors, hotel capacity and development phases.
• Planning applications, environmental review and formal public consultation.
• A funded transport plan connecting the site to rail, Paris and the airports.
• Operator, design and construction appointments, with clear geographic scope.
• Definitions behind employment and attendance projections.
• A realistic opening sequence, ticket strategy and year-round programming plan.

Until those milestones appear, hotel acquisitions, land pricing and supplier expansion should be stress-tested against delay, redesign and a no-Dragon-Ball scenario.

A destination can be built before its mythology is settled

The Cergy-Pontoise proposal is already significant. Two governments have placed it inside a strategic relationship. A Saudi developer with large entertainment ambitions has named France as a place for a multi-park destination. The Region has invested political capital and 18 months of work. The site could redistribute part of the Greater Paris visitor economy toward Val-d’Oise.

But France does not control the name that has electrified the announcement. Japan’s rights holders do. The responsible conclusion is neither that the project is fictional nor that a Dragon Ball park is secured. It is that a major leisure development is being pursued and that its most marketable identity remains unlicensed.

That tension is the story. If the parties align capital, planning, transport, local consent and intellectual-property rights, Cergy-Pontoise could become an international leisure address. If they do not, the project may still survive, but it will need a different mythology and a new reason for the world to travel.

Sources and editorial note

Primary sources include the Élysée joint declaration of 25 August 2026; the Île-de-France Region release of 31 August 2026; Toei Animation’s statement of 31 August 2026; Qiddiya’s March 2024 Saudi park announcement; Cergy-Pontoise mobility information; INSEE hotel data; the regional tourism board’s 2025 results; Shueisha and Bandai Namco rights information; and official planning/environmental documents. Context was checked against AFP reporting carried by Boursorama and reporting by Le Monde. Projections are identified as such. No private licensing negotiation is inferred.

This article is editorial tourism and investment analysis, not financial, legal or planning advice. Follow oui stars Travel for continuing analysis of tourism, investment, culture and the economies shaping the way the world travels.