In the logistics center of Chalon-sur-Saône, in Saône-et-Loire. - Amazon

  • The American e-commerce giant, Amazon, has plans to set up an 18-hectare logistics center in Dambach-la-Ville, in the Bas-Rhin region.
  • Discussions have started between the company and the Pays de Barr community of municipalities.
  • A citizen launched a petition against this settlement. He was joined by a collective that sent letters to many elected officials. The subject has become a debate.

A huge 150,000 m² building spread over three floors, 18 hectares of land concerned and a thousand jobs over time… This is what the next Amazon logistics center in Alsace could represent, in the town of Dambach-la-Ville, about forty kilometers south-west of Strasbourg.

The project, revealed by the Latest News from Alsace last February, is now only in the negotiation phase. “The community council authorized me to speak with Amazon late last year. For the moment, there is no agreement, lawyers are talking to lawyers, ”confirms Gilbert Scholly, the now ex-mayor of Barr but still president of the community of communes of the Pays de Barr.

"One million euros in tax revenue per year"

He does not hide it, he is favorable to the establishment of the e-commerce giant in the Bas-Rhin. "We are still talking about several million euros just for the sale of the land, about one million euros in tax revenue per year and hundreds of jobs ... Given the current context, can we do the fine mouth ? Asks Gilbert Scholly.

For citizens and a collective, the answer is yes. In early March, a winemaker from the nearby town of Andlau launched a petition on the change.org website. Over 13,000 people have so far signed "against the construction of the largest Amazon logistics center in France in Dambach-la-Ville".

"I wanted to launch the subject before the first round of municipal elections," explains Yann Durrmann, who has since been joined by a collective, "Le Chaudron des Alternatives". The latter, with sixty co-signers sent, once the confinement ended in mid-May, two letters to all the members of the community of communes of the Pays de Barr.

"Bring some more thought around this subject"

"We also sprayed a lot of people around and the press, details one of the members, Pascal Lacombe. We hope to bring a little more reflection around this project. It had so far been discussed behind closed doors by elected officials. We would now like them all to position themselves openly. "

In their letters, the protest collective has deployed arguments to justify its opposition to the arrival of Amazon. The main reasons mentioned? "The destruction of jobs in local businesses and craft businesses" that this establishment could generate, "the increase in daily road traffic by about 1,000 heavy goods vehicles and 4,500 utilities", or a three-story building that "would seriously disfigure the territory and would reduce its tourist attractiveness ”. Without forgetting these "18 hectares of agricultural land which would be concreted [...] in defiance of the ecological emergency", writes again "Le Chaudron des Alternatives".

Now a debate between elected officials

"I want to hear everything but we've been trying to fill this platform for years and I also point out that the land already has an economic vocation, more agricultural", reacts Gilbert Scholly. The president of the community of communes of the Pays de Barr also fears that a refusal by his council will push the American giant to simply cross the Rhine. "So there we will have the same disadvantages and not the advantages. No really, this project would do a lot of good for our territory, ”he pleads, calling from now on for a“ serene discussion ”.

It should therefore take place without him after the election of the next community council. Or not before July, after the second round of municipal elections scheduled for June 28. "There will be 45 people around the table and we will see," says the mayor of Dambach-la-Ville, Claude Hauller, who is rather favorable to the arrival of Amazon. "I am sensitive to the environment but the argument linked to employment is likely to weigh after this health crisis", he admits, without predicting a possible result. "Nothing is decided, there will really be a debate," concludes Yann Durrmann.

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