ABSTRACT
This chapter follows the history of the Rhône River water transfer between France and Catalonia, starting with its first formulation in the 1990s to its current apparent demise. By exploring the history of this project, never fulfilled, we unveil how Rhône waters were imagined and presented by Catalan conservative nationalists as the panacea that would alleviate all internal water conflicts in Catalonia. At the same time, the project threatened Spanish national hydro-politics and found the consistent opposition of both Spanish socialists and conservatives. Social movements and territorial alliances against water transfers successfully mobilised a heterogeneous group of citizens and scientists whose demands challenged the project’s justification and contributed to its eventual demise.
