A manga theme park near Paris

France and Saudi Arabia struck a roughly 6 billion euro deal during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's state visit to build three new theme parks outside Paris, including one themed around the Dragon Ball Z manga and anime franchise. President Emmanuel Macron, an avowed manga enthusiast, said the scale recalled the original construction of Disneyland Paris; the parks are slated for the site of the long-shuttered Mirapolis park near Cergy-Pontoise, though no opening date has been set and construction is expected to take years. The project will be run by Qiddiya Investment Company, an arm of Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund that has separately pursued a Dragon Ball park near Riyadh.

Officials framed the parks, expected to generate roughly 2,000 jobs, as part of a broader package of agreements covering health, transport and energy signed during the visit, alongside discussions on the US-Iran conflict. The deal reflects Saudi Arabia's push to diversify its economy beyond oil through entertainment and leisure investment, a strategy also visible in Riyadh hosting (and, due to regional security concerns, briefly relocating to Paris) the Esports World Cup that Macron and bin Salman jointly attended.