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France and Saudi Arabia Sign Deal for Three Paris Theme Parks

A €6 billion Saudi investment aims to create 22,000 jobs with parks including a manga-themed attraction.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and France's President Emmanuel Macron LOU BENOIST / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

What this story says

  • France and Saudi Arabia have signed a memorandum of understanding for a €6 billion Saudi investment to develop three theme parks near Paris.
  • The project is expected to generate 22,000 direct jobs, a figure comparable to Disneyland Paris.
  • One of the planned parks will be manga-themed, with a specific mention of Dragon Ball Z.
  • The investment will be managed by Qiddiya, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.

Who covered it

Left 36%(15)Centre 33%(14)Right 31%(13)

Percentages are shares of the 42 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 34 of the 76 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

42/100

Craft

61/100

Hype

41/100

76 sources · methodology

France and Saudi Arabia have signed a memorandum of understanding for a six-billion-euro Saudi investment to create three theme parks near Paris. The agreement was announced on Monday by the office of French President Emmanuel Macron following a visit by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The project is expected to create 22,000 direct jobs, according to the French presidency.

The theme parks will be located near Cergy-Pontoise, approximately 30 kilometres northwest of Paris. One of the parks is planned to be manga-themed, with a specific mention of Dragon Ball Z, stemming from a shared passion for manga discovered by Macron and bin Salman. The themes for the other two parks have not yet been disclosed. The project will be led by the investment firm Qiddiya, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund. Construction is expected to occur in stages over several years.

Disagreement on Investment Figure

While the memorandum of understanding specifies a six-billion-euro investment, some reports stated the figure as $7 billion. Hindustan Times, Deadline, Bloomberg, WTVB, and News Wire reported the investment as $7 billion. El Pais, Digi 24, midilibre.fr, Le Monde, El Periódico, La Dépêche du Midi, Le Télégramme, informacion.es, and France24 reported the investment as €6 billion. Several other outlets reported billions without specifying the currency or exact amount.

What the coverage left out

None of the left-rated digests mention the specific details of other business agreements signed between France and Saudi Arabia during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit, such as those with CMA CGM for port development or Alstom for metro carriages, which were reported by Hindustan Times.

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 3 times, most recently on 24 Aug 2026, 22:01, and will add the sides that appear.

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

15 rated outlets

  • Left-rated reports highlighted the scale of the project, with headlines such as "'Never Seen Since Disneyland Paris': Macron Announces Three Amusement Parks in Ile-De-France, Financed by Saudi Arabia" (Liberation) and "'Dragon Ball Z' Will Have a Theme Park Near Paris" (La Vanguardia). These reports noted the €6 billion investment and the creation of 22,000 direct jobs. El Pais mentioned that the French president received Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salmán on an official visit, concluding several business agreements with companies like Aramco or Alstom. Zeit Online noted the shared passion for Dragon Ball between Macron and bin Salman as the inspiration for the park.

Centre

14 rated outlets

  • Centre-rated reports focused on the financial and job creation aspects of the deal. Headlines included "EUR 6 Billion and 22,000 Potential Jobs: the Health Project to Build Three Amusement Parks in France" (Digi 24) and "Near Paris, Saudi Arabia Will Finance Three Amusement Parks" (France24). Hindustan Times reported the investment as $7 billion and mentioned the comparison to Disneyland Paris's job creation. Bloomberg's headline, "MBS and Macron’s Love of Manga Brings $7 Billion Theme Park Deal", linked the investment to the shared interest in manga. Le Télégramme framed the event as "The Realpolitik Has Taken over: 'MBS', the Unmissable Saudi Prince, Welcomed to France", noting bin Salman's state visit.

Right

13 rated outlets

  • Right-rated reports often focused on the investment and the partnership aspect. Headlines included "Saudi Arabia to Invest Billions in French Theme Parks" (Berlingske, BT, and Globo). Anadolu Ajansı's headline focused on broader agreements: "Saudi Arabia, France sign agreements to boost cooperation, defense partnership". La Razón's headline stated, "The Saudi Crown Prince Thanks Macron for His Support with an Investment of 6 Billion Euros in a Leisure Project in Paris", highlighting the prince's gratitude. Gulf News reported the $7 billion investment and the job creation figures.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover France and Saudi Arabia Sign Deal for Three Paris Theme Parks?
Of the 42 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 36% are rated left, 33% are rated centre, 31% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 76. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is France and Saudi Arabia Sign Deal for Three Paris Theme Parks left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 42 rated outlets on this story, 36% are rated left, 33% are rated centre, 31% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of France and Saudi Arabia Sign Deal for Three Paris Theme Parks biased?
France and Saudi Arabia Sign Deal for Three Paris Theme Parks is one event reported by 76 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which outlets covered France and Saudi Arabia Sign Deal for Three Paris Theme Parks?
76 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
What is the total value of the Saudi investment in the theme parks?
France and Saudi Arabia have signed a memorandum of understanding for a six-billion-euro investment. Some reports stated this figure as $7 billion, though the official agreement specifies euros.
How many jobs are expected to be created by this project?
The project is expected to create 22,000 direct jobs. This figure is comparable to the approximately 20,000 jobs generated by Disneyland Paris.
What kind of theme park will be built?
Three theme parks are planned near Paris. One of them is expected to be manga-themed, with a specific mention of Dragon Ball Z, inspired by a shared interest between the French president and the Saudi Crown Prince.

Read it at the source

76 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

15
Show 7 more

Centre

14
Show 6 more

Right

13
Show 5 more

Not rated

34
Show 26 more

How did this read?

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France, Saudi Arabia Theme Park Deal | MediaBias News