Mickey Mouse Goes to Paris

By Janice Castro.

Mickey Mouse pranced across the entire front page of the French Socialist daily Le Matin last Thursday, while another paper added his familiar ears to its logo for the day. All of France, it seemed, was celebrating what one government official called "the largest investment in recent history in France." The agreement, signed by Prime Minister Laurent Fabius and Walt Disney Chairman Michael Eisner, called for the construction of a $1 billion, 5,000-acre European Disneyland some 20 miles east of downtown Paris. Said Eisner: "Walt Disney would certainly feel at home here, because European literature inspired so many of his fantasies and characters."

In fact, Disney was particularly fond of France. In 1918, when he was 17, Disney lived in Paris while working as a Red Cross ambulance driver. His cartoon creations were a hit in France from the beginning. Generations of French children have grown up with Mickey, Grincheux (Grumpy), Simplet (Dopey) and the other Disney characters, and French tourists by the thousands visit the American Disney parks in California and Florida every year. While anti- Americanism has swelled up in other areas of French life, no one ever seemed to have anything against Mickey Mouse.

The agreement announced last week offers plenty of benefits for both sides. Disney's three theme parks in the U.S. and Japan contributed $1.1 billion to company revenues last year, and the French cousin will be a major new source of income. Company executives expect to draw some 10 million tourists annually, about the same number that visit either the Tokyo or the original Anaheim, Calif., facility.

For the French, the park should lead to about 10,000 new jobs in an undeveloped farming area. Disney Vice President Richard Nunis claimed that the economic boost might be even greater. In Japan, he said, 150,000 jobs have been created in the Tokyo area as a result of the opening of the Disneyland there in 1983. The Japanese park has become a major tourist attraction for visitors from Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong, and the French one could bring even more tourists from all over the world to France. Said Eisner: "The park will be at the crossroads of Europe." Travel agents are already talking about package tours including, say, three days at Disneyland and four days in Paris.

Though the park will have the Walt Disney touch, from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland, some French accents are expected. Just as restaurants in the Tokyo park feature sushi and tempura served by kimono-clad waitresses, the fare at the Paris facility is likely to include croissants and coq au vin. Eisner insists that the park will be "consistent with French culture."

The Paris site was chosen after the company studied more than 200 locations in France and Spain. Competition between the two countries was stiff. Spain reportedly offered to finance 30% of the building costs and throw in the land for free. Sniffed Ignacio Fuejo, Spain's Deputy Secretary for Tourism, last week after the decision was announced: "They made a mistake choosing France. The weather is dreadful in Paris."

Disney's Nunis says the choice in the end came down to "the proximity of major airports, good roads and, of course, the attraction of Paris itself." While details are still under negotiation, the French plan to complete an extension of a rapid-transit rail line from Paris in time for the opening of the park in late 1990 or early 1991.

French companies will construct the facility, which will include up to 5,000 hotel rooms. Disney will manage the entire operation. Therein lies still another benefit, according to Jean-Noel Chapulut, a French official involved in the talks. Said he: "Disney is well known for having some of the best management techniques in the world."

With reporting by Harriet Welty/Paris