Farmers started new, uncoordinated actions against the cabinet’s nitrogen plans on Monday afternoon. The A67 highway at Liessel (to Venlo) and the A2 at Best (towards Den Bosch) are blocked with bales of hay as a result. Protesters also removed signs with 100 as the speed limit. The Mobile Unit is consulting with the protesters to clear the roads. A live stream of the promotions can be seen on our site.
The action on the A67 caused a traffic jam of eight kilometers in the direction of Venlo at the beginning of the afternoon. According to the ANWB, a delay of one and a half hours had to be taken into account. Traffic was advised to follow Maastricht (on the A2 and A73).
At around half past one, the activists were summoned to clear the hard shoulder to allow an ambulance to pass.
Some of the spokespersons declined to say how long the wild campaign will last. The activists come from Deurne and Liessel, among others, they are present with at least forty tractors.
The police had previously advised them not to block highways, because that could endanger traffic. They were also threatened with fines. One of the farmers takes it for granted: “I don’t have fines, they are destroying my company and that will cost me millions.”
The criticism that road users experience this inconvenience was met with a shrug of the shoulders. The action was called ‘bitter necessity’ by one of the farmers: “Sometimes you have to. Hopefully we have the public with us.”
“We have been harassed for years ourselves,” said one of them. “We have been too nice for too long. We will only stop when the minister has resigned.” Others find it sufficient when the plans are off the table. The cabinet’s proposals have not gone down well, because they could lead to a significant reduction in the number of farms. This is necessary to save nature.
Drivers who have been stuck in traffic jams for twelve hours understand the actions of the farmers. They hardly seem to care: “We’ll see.”
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