Three theme parks will be built near Paris as part of a €6bn (£5.13bn) deal agreed between France and Saudi Arabia. The new development is expected to include a manga-themed park, inspired by the popular Japanese franchise Dragon Ball Z. French President Emmanuel Macron hailed the move as on a scale not seen since Disneyland Paris, and added you know my interest for manga. An opening date for the parks - which will be built near Cergy-Pontoise - has not set by the Élysée Palace, but they will open in stages and construction is expected to take years. The project was given the green light during a two-day state visit to France by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It stemmed from a previous discussion between Macron and bin Salman about their shared passion for Japanese comics, in particular Dragon Ball Z, advisers to the president told reporters on Monday.

China-based team AG.AL have been crowned surprise winners of the Esports World Cup (EWC) after seven weeks of competition in Paris. The team claimed the tournament trophy and $7m (£5.1m) top prize at a ceremony attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and Fifa boss Gianni Infantino. Bosses moved the contest, which was due to be held in Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh, to France at the last minute due to safety concerns over the conflict between the US and Iran in the Middle East. The event has attracted criticism from some fans due to Saudi Arabia's ongoing involvement, but organisers the Esports Foundation said it had attracted more viewers this year. Image caption, He's never got his hands on football's World Cup, but Cristiano Ronaldo was on hand to reveal the esports version Although it is branded as a World Cup, players in the EWC don't compete for their countries but as individuals or in a team, fighting it out across popular video games such as Call of Duty and League of Legends.

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Macron's G7 legacy hangs on fickle AI funding and data centers With less than a year left in office, Emmanuel Macron wants to be remembered as the French president who put Europe back in the technology race. His decade-old ambition to turn France into a "startup nation" never fully delivered. Now Macron sees a second chance by positioning France as Europe's artificial intelligence powerhouse, leveraging the nation's abundant supply of nuclear energy for data centers. He convinced SoftBank Group to invest as much as €75 billion ($87 billion) in French projects. His advisers have dubbed the AI effort "Project Marengo," a reference to Napoleon Bonaparte's victory over an Austrian army in 1800 at the battle of the same name, won through speed and decisive action. Marengo was also a political victory, securing Bonaparte's hold on power.

SoftBank Group plans to invest as much as €75 billion ($87 billion) to build 5 gigawatts of artificial intelligence data center capacity in France, saying the country is poised to become a top European hub for AI infrastructure. The first phase comprises an initial €45 billion investment to deliver 3.1 gigawatts of AI data center capacity in the Hauts-de-France region by 2031, SoftBank said Saturday in a statement. The commitment, which SoftBank called its biggest AI infrastructure investment in Europe, reflects personal diplomacy between Emmanuel Macron and SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son, who met during the French president's visit to Japan this year. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right. With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories.

A French woman and her partner will remain in custody after allegedly abandoning her two young boys on a roadside in the south of Portugal, a court has ruled. The boys were found on Tuesday evening crying beside a road near Alcacer do Sal, about 100km (60 miles) south of Lisbon. The woman and her partner, identified by authorities as Marine R and Marc B, were arrested in Fatima on Thursday. As they were being led into court on Saturday morning, the man shouted I love you in French and the boys' mother sang. A judge subsequently ordered the pair be placed in pre-trial detention, French and Portuguese media report.

A year to go until France chooses its next president, the big question is who can save the election from being a battle of the extremes. For now, and perhaps only for now, the answer is pretty clear. It is President Emmanuel Macron's former prime minister, Edouard Philippe. Latest opinion polls concur that the 55-year-old centre-right politician is the only figure capable of beating a hard-right candidate in round two of the vote next May, whether that is Marine Le Pen or her young deputy Jordan Bardella. In any other polled scenario, the other candidate would lose and France would have a populist-right head of state.

Elon Musk was summoned by the French authorities for a voluntary interview that had been planned to take place on Monday. Elon Musk was summoned by the French authorities for a voluntary interview that had been planned to take place on Monday. Elon Musk did not appear on Monday for a voluntary interview with lawyers in Paris, who had summoned the American tech billionaire over an investigation into his social media platform X and AI chatbot Grok. The prosecutors told AFP that they had "taken note of the absence of the first people summoned", without mentioning Musk's name. The billionaire called the French authorities involved "retards" weeks earlier in a French-language post on X .

Emmanuel Macron told delegates at the AI summit: 'Europe is not blindly focused on regulation.' Emmanuel Macron told delegates at the AI summit: 'Europe is not blindly focused on regulation.' Macron defends EU AI rules and vows crackdown on child'digital abuse' Emmanuel Macron has hit back at US criticism of Europe's efforts to regulate AI, vowing to protect children from "digital abuse" during France's presidency of the G7. Speaking at the AI Impact summit in Delhi, the French president called for tougher safeguards after global outrage over Elon Musk's Grok chatbot being used to generate tens of thousands of sexualised images of children, and amid mounting concern about the concentration of AI power in a handful of companies. His remarks were echoed by António Guterres, the UN secretary general, who told delegates - including several US tech billionaires - that "no child should be a test subject for unregulated AI". "The future of AI cannot be decided by a few countries or left to the whims of a few billionaires," Guterres said. "AI must belong to everyone".

World leaders discuss AI future at India's global summit in New Delhi The fourth, and most high-profile, day of a global artificial intelligence summit in India is under way with world leaders such as United Nations chief Antonio Guterres and French President Emmanuel Macron taking the floor to discuss how to handle the fast-advancing technology that is prompting investment enthusiasm and deep concern in equal measure. The huge gathering in New Delhi is the fourth in a series of international AI meetings that have been taking place since 2023 in France, South Korea and the United Kingdom. Job disruption, child safety and regulations have topped the agenda of this year's edition. The UN chief called on tech tycoons to support a $3bn global fund to ensure open access to the fast-advancing technology for all. The French president also spoke of needing deep involvement: "The message I have come to convey is what is that we are determined to continue to shape the rules of the game, and to do with our allies such as India," Macron said. "Europe is not blindly focused on regulation - Europe is a space for innovation and investment, but it is a safe space."