Mirapolis could well come back to life... and the project is now on an entirely different scale. In Courdimanche, near Cergy in the Val-d’Oise, a vast leisure complex backed by the Saudi group Qiddiya is now officially under consideration. France and Saudi Arabia have confirmed an investment of around €6 billion in a destination bringing together several parks, hotels and leisure activities. The worlds being discussed include Dragon Ball, but an important clarification is needed: the license has not yet been officially secured for the French project.
According to information published by Le Monde on August 25, 2026, Qiddiya Investment Company has reportedly yet to receive authorization from the Japanese rights holders to use the Dragon Ball brand and characters in France. The manga-themed park therefore remains a very serious prospect, publicly touted in particular by Valérie Pécresse, but its development under this license still needs to be secured.
Opened in 1987, Mirapolis was intended to become one of France’s major theme parks. Located on a large site in Courdimanche, it is still closely associated with its monumental statue of Gargantua. But the venture was short-lived: faced with financial difficulties and insufficient visitor numbers, the park closed in 1991, after just a few seasons. Since then, several redevelopment projects have been proposed for the site, but none has brought back a leisure facility on a comparable scale.
The announced project is far larger than the initial reports of a single Dragon Ball park. The planned complex is set to bring together three theme parks, with a total investment of €6 billion. Around 22,000 jobs could be created around this new tourist destination.
The announcement was made official by Emmanuel Macron. The president of the Republic described it as an “extraordinary announcement” and highlighted both his interest in manga and his desire to attract investment to France that can create jobs and fund large-scale projects.
It should be noted, however: the joint statement published on August 25 by France and Saudi Arabia does not directly mention Dragon Ball. It confirms Qiddiya’s ambition to develop a multi-park complex in Cergy-Pontoise, featuring up to three major flagship attractions, hotels and complementary leisure experiences. The Dragon Ball theme has been publicly announced by several French officials, but remains subject to approval by the license holders.
Funding is to be provided by Qiddiya Investment Company, a Saudi group specializing in entertainment and behind several major tourism and leisure projects in Saudi Arabia.
Earlier in the day, Île-de-France regional president Valérie Pécresse said the regional authority had been working on the project for 18 months, describing it on TF1 as a project “on the scale of Disney.”
While the world of Dragon Ball is now associated with one of the announced parks, the themes of the other two parks have yet to be revealed.
The site of the former Mirapolis in Courdimanche had until now been at the center of discussions about the location of a Dragon Ball theme park. However, announcements made on August 24 refer more broadly to a complex near Cergy-Pontoise, without specifying the exact land area to be occupied by each of the three planned parks.
It is therefore still too early to say that the entire program will be built solely on the former Mirapolis site. The historic site could accommodate all or part of the project, but the exact location of the various facilities and any additional land that may be needed have not yet been specified.
The scale of the project also raises questions about the infrastructure that will need to support it: road access, public transport, parking, accommodation, restaurants and other facilities needed to welcome a large influx of visitors.
Dragon Ball, the famous manga created by Akira Toriyama, remains the universe most clearly associated with the French project. Valérie Pécresse, president of the Île-de-France region, publicly announced that Dragon Ball was coming to Île-de-France.
But the project has not yet cleared all the necessary hurdles. According to Le Monde, Qiddiya has not yet obtained approval from the Japanese rights holders to use Dragon Ball in a French park. The negotiations are all the more important because several Japanese parties hold rights to the franchise.
So, at this stage, it is more accurate to speak of a proposed Dragon Ball park within the future Cergy-Pontoise complex than of a license that has been definitively secured.
Qiddiya is already very familiar with this world, however, as the group is currently developing a Dragon Ball theme park in Qiddiya City, Saudi Arabia, where the licensing rights have been officially confirmed.
This Saudi project gives a measure of Qiddiya’s ambitions for the franchise. The park is set to cover more than 500,000 m² and bring together seven themed areas inspired by the seven Dragon Balls. Several iconic locations from the saga are to be recreated there, including Kame House, Capsule Corporation and Beerus’s planet.
More than 30 attractions have been announced, including five major attractions. The park will also be dominated by a spectacular 70-meter-tall Shenron, around which a roller coaster will be built. The complex will be rounded out by themed hotels and restaurants.
These elements give an indication of the expertise and ambition Qiddiya can bring to the license. However, they do not mean that the future park in Val-d'Oise will be an exact replica of the one currently being developed in Saudi Arabia.
At this stage, no plans, footprint or list of attractions specific to the French project have been unveiled. It is also unclear which periods of the saga will be represented and whether any of the attractions or sets designed for Qiddiya City will be adapted for the future Paris-area park.
However, the choice of Dragon Ball is no coincidence. The franchise created by Akira Toriyama is hugely popular in France, one of Europe’s leading markets for manga and Japanese animation. Emmanuel Macron himself also referred to his interest in manga when announcing the project.
It will be several more years before the complex opens. According to the initial information released about the project, the first park is expected to open around 2032. The other two parks are then expected to be developed gradually, though no specific timeline has been announced yet.
However, this timeline remains provisional. The project still has many hurdles to clear before opening to the public: finalizing the precise site layout, completing administrative procedures, developing the infrastructure and building the various facilities. The exact locations of the three parks, the identities of the other two themed worlds, their size and the attractions planned for them also remain to be determined.
The project around the former Mirapolis is no longer just a behind-the-scenes proposal for a Dragon Ball park. The Franco-Saudi announcement on August 24 gives it a new dimension and now paves the way for the creation of a major leisure destination around Cergy-Pontoise. Future announcements will need to clarify, in particular, exactly what role the historic site in Courdimanche will play in the program.
This page may contain AI-assisted elements, more information here.
