In October 1991, four years after it opened, the large theme park Mirapolis in the Val-d’Oise region of France welcomed its final visitors. Located in Courdimanche, near the Cergy-Pontoise urban area, the park was inaugurated on May 20, 1987, by then-Prime Minister Jacques Chirac. Despite its grand opening, Mirapolis struggled financially and closed on October 20, 1991, having lost around 300 million francs. The park had cost over 700 million francs to build, far exceeding its original budget of 500 million francs. A 35-meter-tall statue of Gargantua, inspired by the 16th-century novel Gargantua by François Rabelais, stood as a prominent landmark near the entrance. The statue was visible from the A15 highway and became a symbol of the park. It was later destroyed by explosives in late 1995, though the exact date remains uncertain. Demolition of the park’s buildings had already begun in 1993, with the statue being the last major structure to be removed. Mirapolis was intended to be a major tourist attraction, but visitor numbers fell far short of expectations. In 1987, the park welcomed around 600,000 visitors, and that number rose to about 1 million in 1988. However, by 1991, attendance had dropped to approximately 400,000—more than a 60 percent decline. The promoters had hoped the Gargantua statue would be the park’s centerpiece, but the project’s failure left the land largely unused for over 30 years. During that time, parts of the site were occupied by the GIGN, a French special forces unit that used the area for training. In August 2026, during a visit to Paris by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, French President Emmanuel Macron announced plans to build three amusement parks on the former Mirapolis site. The project would be carried out by Qiddiya Investment Company, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. One of the new parks would focus on manga, drawing inspiration from the popular Dragon Ball series. Jean-Paul Jandon, the mayor of Cergy, described the announcement as a "new perspective" for the area after decades of neglect. The proposed development is expected to require around 6 billion euros in investment and create up to 22,000 jobs. However, no official opening date has been set, and the parks would open gradually over the coming years. The project has sparked mixed reactions among local residents. Some see the development as an opportunity for economic growth, while others have mobilized against it, citing environmental concerns and practical challenges. The original investor in Mirapolis in 1987 was Ghaith Pharaon, a Saudi businessman, and the financial backing came from the Arab International Investment Bank. Despite the new plans, nothing has been built yet on the site, and the future of the area remains uncertain.