Dragon

From Gargantua to Dragon Ball? Discussions are underway between French authorities and a Saudi investment company to install in Val-d’Oise a Dragon Ball theme park on the site of the former Mirapolis, which closed 35 years ago.

On the grounds, where at the end of the 1980s stood a colossal statue of Gargantua, the hero of François Rabelais, there remain only a few remnants of one of France’s first theme parks: a concrete block at the entrance, in memory of the old ticket office, and a little further, a fixed orange marquee, faded, almost swallowed by the surrounding vegetation.

A Dragon Ball project still secret, already very advanced

This multi-hectare site located in Courdimanche, one of the towns within the Cergy-Pontoise urban area, could host a new amusement park inspired by the famous Japanese manga Dragon Ball, according to a source close to the dossier confirming information from the news outlet Politico.

Several meetings have taken place since April between the Élysée, the Île-de-France region, the concerned municipalities, the French and Île-de-France attractiveness agencies, and the main investor, Qiddiya Investment Company, a subsidiary of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) dedicated to entertainment, sport, and culture. The project is “very well advanced”, according to this source, even though no official announcement has yet been made.

These high-level negotiations are worrying the families of travelers living on the site for more than nine years, among whom about twenty children “are enrolled in nearby municipalities”, AFP reported Alfred Duvaux, 66. “We know nothing”, added his brother Gilles, 75, “even the landowner wasn’t informed”.

If the leisure project were to come to fruition, “we would be really in trouble”, they lament. Because around a hundred households now live on the site, they say: white caravans, wooden huts, garden furniture, and inflatable pools for the children have found their home there. “Before you make us leave, you must find us another place”, notes the septuagenarian.

At this stage, contacted by AFP, the Élysée has not confirmed any information, just as the Courdimanche town hall or the Cergy-Pontoise metropolis have not. The prefectures of Val-d’Oise and Île-de-France have not responded to AFP’s inquiries.

The amount of the investment is also not known, but it could exceed one billion euros according to Politico, which claims that several ministers also participated in the meetings.

Residents and local officials demand guarantees

The LFI deputy for Val-d’Oise, Aurélien Taché, asked the regional prefect for “real consultation” with the elected representatives, associations and residents of the territory.

Maryeme Bouslam, opposition municipal councilor in Courdimanche, also laments “the method” of the project, which, in her view, “comes from the Élysée (…) without the prior consultation of residents, neighbouring towns and their representatives”.

She would rather favor turning the site into a cultural hub, a university hub or a research hub, “a realistic, durable and sustainable project for the population”.

A observer from the Communist group on the regional council, who did not wish to be named, warns of the need for an “appreciable improvement of the site’s accessibility”, recalling that “the park’s economic difficulties (Mirapolis, NDLR) stemmed from low attendance (…) and poor access”.

“Such an investment can present an opportunity in terms of employment” but “urgent guarantees must be provided regarding consultation and environmental protection”, the group also stated in a Monday press release.

Mirapolis, one of the first amusement parks in France built around the theme of French legends and tales, opened its doors in 1987. In its first year, it drew only 800,000 visitors, far fewer than the more than 2 million anticipated.

Then, challenged by the opening of Parc Astérix, it ultimately closed its doors in 1991, after just four years in operation.