The Ried is not for sale.
The Mack family (Europa-Park) wants to pave over 60 hectares of farmland and protected wetlands with a massive hotel complex in the Alsatian Ried. The project is advancing in secrecy. Get informed. Take action.
The project in 5 key points
Every claim is sourced. Click the links to verify.
60 hectares of concrete in the Ried
A 60-hectare hotel and leisure complex — hotels, holiday village, 'nature park', shops — driven by the Mack family (Europa-Park) via Mack One France SAS. Between Diebolsheim and Sundhouse, in the heart of the Alsatian Ried, a unique ecosystem in Europe.
Source€260,000 of public money wasted
A study funded by taxpayers (Region, CEA, State, intercommunalities), whose report was kept secret for 2 years because it concludes that local residents oppose the project.
SourceNatura 2000 and Ramsar sites threatened
The project directly borders nature reserves (Taubergiessen, Ile de Rhinau) and wetlands protected by international conventions — a legally stronger position than the Roybon case.
SourceSecret meetings
On July 7, 2025, a confidential meeting in Benfeld brought together the sub-prefect, DREAL, DDT, elected officials and Mack One. Instruction: 'Everyone must keep this secret.'
SourceZero public consultation
Ried residents were never consulted. The study report — reflecting their opposition — was ignored. The president of the Erstein intercommunality ordered secrecy 'because of the municipal elections'.
SourceProject timeline
From conception in 2016 to the 2026 mobilisation — ten years of a project advancing behind closed doors.
Project conception
The Mack family begins planning a hotel and leisure complex in Alsace.
Michael Mack appointed Honorary Consul
Michael Mack becomes Honorary Consul of France in Freiburg and Tubingen.
SourcePublic announcement in Rust
Press conference in Rust with Michael and Roland Mack. Monique Jung (ADIRA) calls the project an 'extraordinary dream'.
Choose France Summit
Michael Mack invited to the 'Choose France' summit at Versailles by Emmanuel Macron.
SourceLetter of support from senior officials
The former Prefect of the Grand Est region, the departmental council president, and regional leaders send a letter of support for the project.
SourceRue89 Strasbourg reveals the project
First detailed press article: 150+ hectares targeted between Sundhouse and Diebolsheim.
SourceCall for tenders for the study
ADIRA issues a call for tenders for a 'development study in central Alsace' — the Europa Valley project is the explicit trigger.
SourceLe Chaudron denounces the project
The citizen collective Le Chaudron des Alternatives publishes its first public denunciation.
Mack One France SAS established
The Mack family creates its French company in Schiltigheim (SIREN 893 901 678, capital 1M euros). Headquarters moved to Plobsheim in late 2022.
SourceStudy contract signed
Contract signed with EY, Arcadis and Ceresco for 260,000 euros of public funds (Region: 100,000 euros, CEA: 100,000 euros, State: 50,000 euros, inter-municipal bodies: 10,000 euros).
SourceRally in Rhinau
Citizens' protest against the project in Rhinau.
Petition launched
Le Chaudron des Alternatives launches the bilingual petition 'Ca suffit! Jetzt langt's!' on Change.org.
SourceStudy report finalized — kept secret
The EY/Arcadis/Ceresco report concludes that the area is 'suitable for projects other than Europa Valley'. ADIRA refuses to make it public despite 100% public funding. Its conclusions will be revealed by Rue89 Strasbourg in May 2025.
Source'Abandonment' announced
Frederic Bierry verbally announces the project's abandonment to Le Chaudron des Alternatives.
SourceLegion of Honour for the Macks
Macron personally awards Roland Mack (Officer) and Michael Mack (Knight) the Legion of Honour at the Elysee Palace.
SourceCEA votes to modify the SCoT
In a closed-door standing committee, the CEA votes to inscribe Europa Valley in the SCoT — despite the study's unfavourable conclusions.
SourceConfidential meeting in Benfeld
~20 participants including the sub-prefect, DREAL, DDT, elected officials and Mack One. Schaal: 'Everyone must keep it secret'. Minutes marked 'CONFIDENTIAL'.
SourceMack pressures elected officials
During a meeting in Plobsheim, Michael Mack asks Alsatian elected officials to show 'a clear political will'.
SourceDNA: the project is 'almost ready'
The DNA publishes an interview with Michael Mack in Plobsheim. He confirms the project is 'almost ready' with hotels and an 'ecological village'. Schaal (CCCE): 'No elected official will commit six months before municipal elections'.
SourceRue89 reveals the secret meetings
Rue89 Strasbourg publishes revelations about the confidential meeting of July 7 and the Mack family's pressure on elected officials.
SourcePublic meeting: 200 citizens mobilized
Information evening organized by Le Chaudron des Alternatives and Rue89 Strasbourg. ~200 attendees, 3,500 flyers distributed to mailboxes.
SourceSCoT approved — without Europa Valley
The revised SCoTERS is approved unanimously. Contrary to the CEA's May 2025 attempt, the Europa Valley project was ultimately not included in the approved document, according to the CCRM president.
SourceBierry wants to open Haut-Koenigsbourg to the Macks
The CEA president proposes a partnership between the Haut-Koenigsbourg castle and the Mack family (VR experience).
SourceRenewed mobilization
Leafleting organized in 8 municipalities by citizen collectives. The Ried mobilizes ahead of the March 2026 municipal elections.
CCRM publicly expresses frustration
At a community council meeting in Bootzheim, elected officials of the CC du Ried de Marckolsheim sharply criticize the project's lack of transparency. President Pfliegersdoerffer announces his intention to challenge the CCCE and publish the full EY/Arcadis/Ceresco study.
SourceOpen letter from the Chaudron to the CeA
Le Chaudron des Alternatives sends an open letter to CeA president Frédéric Bierry, elected officials, the media and the Mack family, demanding transparency on the project and the €260,000 study.
SourceEuropa Vallée debated in the CeA plenary session
Ludivine Quintallet (Green councillor) tables an amendment to the ENS scheme naming Europa Vallée. Rejected by the majority. Denis Schulz confirms he met Michael Mack. Bierry, questioned about the secret meetings, is rattled.
SourcePfliegersdoerffer reappointed CCRM president
After his re-election as mayor of Marckolsheim (4th term), Frédéric Pfliegersdoerffer is reappointed president of the CC du Ried de Marckolsheim by the renewed community council (33 members, 13 substitutes). The project's most outspoken institutional critic keeps his inter-municipal leverage for the 2026-2032 term.
SourceStéphane Schaal re-elected CCCE president
The renewed community council of the CC du Canton d'Erstein re-elects Stéphane Schaal, mayor of Limersheim, as president. The organiser of the confidential Benfeld meeting (July 2025) remains at the head of the inter-municipal body covering the northern part of the project area.
SourceThe CeA responds: Bierry confirms his support
Frédéric Bierry replies to the Chaudron's letter, confirming the CeA's support for Europa Vallée — with new information, but also notable contradictions.
SourceThe opponents reply to the CeA
Alternative Nature, Le Chaudron des Alternatives and the federated collective reply to Bierry. Through its letter, the CeA acknowledges the scale of the project and the opacity of its handling.
SourceThe collective crashes the CCCE officials' seminar (Benfeld)
First seminar of the CCCE's municipal officials in Benfeld (Espace du Ried), bringing together 200 to 250 officials from the 28 communes after the new intercommunal council was formed. Around fifteen members of the collective hand out flyers and letters at the entrance and challenge the officials: the confidentiality sought over Europa Vallée is shattered.
SourceThe CADA rules in WVN's favour: the EY study must be disclosed
France's freedom-of-information commission issues a favourable opinion (no. 202605018, signed by Bruno Lasserre) on Wittisheim Vies et Nature's request. It restates that, once signed, public procurement contracts and their related documents are disclosable to anyone who requests them (Conseil d'Etat, March 30, 2016, Centre hospitalier de Perpignan). The intellectual-property argument raised by ADIRA is rejected; the only permitted redactions cover the detailed financial elements of the bids, not the content of the study.
SourceThe mobilisation continues
Our teams are active on the ground and actions are ongoing. Follow the updates on this timeline.
Where is the project located?
Between Diebolsheim and Schoenau, in the heart of the Alsatian Ried, across the Rhine from Rust (Europa-Park). The coloured areas represent two simulations of the project footprint: ~60 hectares (yellow) and ~250 hectares (red), based on available public sources. The exact location has never been officially disclosed.
Impact on road traffic
No public transport is planned. All visitors and employees would arrive by road, driving through local villages.
Affected roads
Main road through the villages — would become the access route to the complex
Secondary road affected by traffic to the Rhine bridge
Motorway already congested at peak hours
Comparison: The Center Parcs project in Roybon (Isere), a comparable project halted after 13 years, planned 990 cottages and 380,000 visitors/year on 202 ha — and already faced major access issues. For Europa Valley, no capacity figures have been disclosed despite plans the Mack family says are 'almost finished'.
2026 municipal elections: question your candidates
Stephane Schaal ordered that this dossier 'must not be a topic for the municipal elections'.
Let's do exactly the opposite.
Ask your candidates:
'Do you support the Europa Valley project?
Will you commit to consulting your constituents?'
Affected municipalities:
Diebolsheim Sundhouse Rhinau Schoenau Wittisheim Bindernheim Friesenheim Saasenheim Erstein Benfeld MarckolsheimJoin the movement
Every signature counts to demonstrate citizen opposition to the Europa Valley project.
Partner organisations
Together, we are stronger. These organisations share our fight.
Le Chaudron des Alternatives
Citizen collective, main organized opposition since 2020
Visit website
Jetzt Langt's
German citizen collective from Rust opposing Europa-Park's expansion
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Wittisheim Vies et Nature
Association for nature conservation and quality of life in Wittisheim
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Climat 3 Frontières
Ecological transition association in the Saint-Louis Agglomération area (Haut-Rhin)
Visit website
Nature Ried Krautergersheim
Local section of the Association Nature Ried, member of the Alsace Nature network, dedicated to protecting the wetlands of the Ried
Visit websiteThe Roybon precedent
'We were in a dead end, it had become unsolvable — between the site occupation, the regulatory changes, the permits for building, for deforestation, water law, species protection, and the slowness of the courts...'
In 2020, the Center Parcs project in Roybon (Isere) — 202 hectares, EUR 387 million — was abandoned after 13 years of struggle. The environmental protections of the Ried (Natura 2000 directly adjacent to the project site, Ramsar wetland, ZAN law) are even stronger than those of Roybon.
Take action
Every voice matters to demonstrate citizen opposition to the Europa Valley project.