In 1997, France abruptly halted a massive river project intended to transform a 229-kilometer stretch of the Doubs valley into a major European waterway, connecting the North Sea to the Mediterranean. This ambitious canal, meant to rival the Rhine-Main-Danube route, was never completed, and no cargo has ever traveled along this now-forgotten "liquid highway." The idea of linking the Rhône and Rhine rivers by water dates back to the 17th century, when French officials first proposed the concept. The project took shape in the 19th century with the construction of the Rhône to Rhine canal, which officially opened in 1834. However, by the late 20th century, this canal had become too narrow to accommodate modern trade needs, prompting a new, more ambitious plan in the 1970s. The new project aimed to build a much larger canal, capable of transporting massive cargo convoys across Europe. It would have required significant modifications to the Doubs valley, including cutting 58 kilometers of river bends and constructing 24 massive locks, pumping stations, and rebuilding numerous bridges. The estimated cost was nearly 17 billion francs, or about 2.6 billion euros, a staggering sum for the time. Despite the investment, the project faced strong opposition due to its high cost, uncertain economic benefits, and environmental concerns. The proposed route would have passed through several towns and near numerous protected historical and archaeological sites. Environmentalists warned that the project would destroy half of the wetlands along the route and displace thousands of hectares of farmland. The project’s funding was also controversial. It relied on a unique legal mechanism that allowed the French electricity company EDF to fund the canal under the guise of generating energy from existing hydroelectric plants, a move critics called the "Rhone rent." In 1997, the French government officially abandoned the project, repealing its status as a public utility before its legal deadline. The decision came amid growing doubts about its economic viability and environmental impact. An inter-ministerial study later assessed the long-term consequences of this decision, noting that it had left many communities without major infrastructure developments for decades. While parts of the original canal were completed in the 2000s, they were repurposed for tourism rather than commercial shipping. The Doubs valley, with its winding meanders, remains largely untouched by the concrete structures that once threatened to reshape it. Attempts to revive the project have continued over the years, but no new funding or political support has materialized. Today, the unfinished canal is a symbol of ambition and abandonment, remembered more on bicycles than in cargo ships. The EuroVelo 6 cycling route, which would have passed through the region, remains incomplete due to the lack of infrastructure improvements in this "ghost" section of the river.