Berlin (Reuters) – Farmers began their announced protests and traffic blockades against subsidy cuts for agricultural diesel in many parts of Germany on Monday morning.
In Berlin, farmers gathered with their tractors in front of the Brandenburg Gate, and in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and North Rhine-Westphalia they blocked all motorway entrances. There will be a central rally in Munich this morning. The farmers’ association had announced that protests would continue at various locations throughout the week. This could have a significant impact on traffic in Germany, especially in the second half of the week, especially since the train drivers’ union GDL has announced a strike from Wednesday in the collective bargaining dispute with Deutsche Bahn.
Farmers’ Association President Joachim Rukwied had already warned right-wing groups at the weekend not to infiltrate the announced demonstrations. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) emphasized that the security authorities would pay close attention to the participation of extremists in the protests.
Meanwhile, the Prime Ministers of North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony, Hendrik Wüst and Michael Kretschmer (both CDU), accused the federal government of being unwilling to engage in dialogue with farmers. The traffic light government’s planned reduction in subsidies for agricultural diesel is “an enormous burden” for farmers, said Wüst on ZDF. “That’s why I can understand why there are protests,” he added.
(Report by Andreas Rinke; edited by Sabine Ehrhardt. If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at [email protected] (for politics and economics) or [email protected] (for companies and markets).)