Le Stück
Le Stück is the citizen local currency of Strasbourg and the Bas-Rhin in Alsace, France, launched in October 2015 and run by a member association within the Sol network of French local currencies. Each stück is backed one-to-one by euros held at the ethical bank La Nef and circulates as paper notes and through a mobile app among local shops, producers, and residents, with about 150,000 stücks in circulation. Ten years in, the association is pushing a digital relaunch and membership drive, letting businesses pay part of salaries in stücks and redirecting payment fees into local community projects.
A classic French MLC in honest middle age: organically adopted, democratically governed, fully euro-backed — and small, with about 60 businesses and fading paper circulation that a 2026 digital push is trying to reverse. Lands just under its larger cousins (Chiemgauer 2.5, Eusko 2.6) at M69 2.4, minimally aligned.
M69 Score
Scored against the Money2069 Manifesto — see methodology. Higher = more aligned.
Detailed Rating Breakdown
Issuance Model3x3.0
Association-controlled issuance (IM-01: 1) via pure euro exchange, fully debt-free (IM-02: 5); supply follows voluntary conversion with no demurrage, contracting only through professional reconversion (IM-03: 2, IM-04: 3, IM-05: 3). Average 2.8 — the Eusko/Chiemgauer pattern.
Spending Power Stability2x2.0
Passive 1:1 euro peg with full reserves at La Nef (SPS-01: 2); the euro is a low-inflation single-fiat benchmark (SPS-02: 3) but purchasing-power drift is fully imported (SPS-04: 3, SPS-05: 2); membership-bounded regional access (SPS-06: 2). Weighted 2.5.
Fiat Independence & Interoperability2x1.0
Euro-defined unit, 100% euro reserves, dependent on French banking partners; no independence goal, composability, or interop standard — 1 across FI-01..08.
Traction2x3.0
Ten years of continuous circulation (TR-02: 5) with genuinely organic, conviction-driven adoption — no cashback subsidies (TR-09: 5) — but at small scale: about 60 accepting businesses (TR-04: 2), a membership in the hundreds (TR-03: 1), declining note circulation prompting a digital relaunch (TR-01: 4, TR-10: 2), institutional partners including La Nef, the Sol network, and the city and region (TR-07: 3). Weighted 2.6.
Sovereignty2.0
The association can wind the currency down (SO-01: 1) and the wallet app is operator-run, but paper stücks are bearer instruments giving users self-custody and cash-like privacy in circulation (SO-04: 3, SO-08: 3); rules live in statutes, not code (SO-09: 1). Weighted 1.8.
Governance3.0
One-member-one-vote association with AGM control (GO-02: 4, GO-04: 3) under the French ESS law and the MLCC charter (GO-07: 3); board executes between assemblies and monetary rules follow the same statute process as everything else (GO-05: 3, GO-08: 3). Weighted 2.9.
Resilience2.0
Survived a decade including COVID with the core 1:1 model intact (RE-01: 3) and full reserves make redemption safe (RE-03: 3), but the association is small, volunteer-driven, and grant-dependent, with note usage fading (RE-02: 2, RE-07: 2). Weighted 2.5.
Inclusivity3.0
Open membership at low cost with identical rules for members (IN-02: 4, IN-05: 4) and payment fees redirected to community projects (IN-04: 4); light identity for membership and anonymous paper use (IN-06: 3), but participation requires joining a regional association (IN-01: 3). Weighted 3.5.