Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) paid an official visit to France from August 21 to 24. During his stay, he attended the award ceremony for the Esports World Cup and participated in the inaugural summit meeting of the Franco-Saudi Strategic Partnership Council. The Prince was hosted for dinner at the Élysée Palace and engaged in productive discussions with the French President regarding the situation in the Middle East, where our positions broadly align. Finally, together with the President, MBS closed a major Business Forum, which highlighted strong interest from companies in both nations to expand cooperation across numerous sectors.
During the visit, two major contracts were signed with Alstom and CMA CGM. The first (€500 million) covers supplying additional trainsets for Lines 3 and 6 of the Riyadh Metro, as well as establishing an assembly plant in Saudi Arabia for future Line 7 trains. The second (€434 million) is dedicated to developing a new terminal at the Port of Jeddah.
Additionally, around twenty MOUs were signed spanning energy, manufacturing, artificial intelligence, defense, finance, logistics, healthcare, tourism (extending the Al-Ula agreement through 2035), culture, and emerging technologies. Notably, both defense ministries signed a letter of intent to strengthen their partnership, while the economic ministries finalized a memorandum of understanding on AI cooperation. BNP Paribas also secured a license to establish its regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia.
Media coverage focused heavily on the announcement of a €6 billion Saudi investment to build three theme parks in the Paris region, including one dedicated to the Japanese manga Dragon Ball (notably at the former Mirapolis site in Cergy-Pontoise), expected to create 22,000 direct jobs. This investment would be spearheaded by Saudi Arabia through Qiddiya Investment Company, a subsidiary of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF.
At this stage, the agreement is, as mentioned, a memorandum of understanding, and further progress is required before reaching a final contract. A statement from Qiddiya Investment Company noted that it had signed an MOU with the French government to “explore developing a new mixed-use entertainment destination,” adding that this step “marks the start of a joint phase to define the project’s scale, development model, and contractual structure.” In practice, France and Saudi Arabia are launching a long-term initiative that will take shape as joint work continues.
Overall, the Saudi Crown Prince’s visit to Paris can be considered a success. It underscores a mutual commitment to deepen dialogue on Middle Eastern affairs and demonstrates a shared ambition among business leaders from both countries to expand partnerships under Saudi Arabia’s “Vision 2030” initiative. Beyond hosting World Expo 2030 in Riyadh (a key priority for MBS), Saudi Arabia, like its Gulf neighbors, must now address the implications of Iranian strikes on its territory to secure vital infrastructure: military installations, data centers, desalination plants, power facilities, new energy routes, and pipeline protection.
France is well-positioned to contribute to these goals if it can build on the success of MBS’s visit to Paris to execute the signed agreements.
