ATHENS, Greece (AP) – Scores of bright-colored tractors were parked outside Greece’s parliament Tuesday, horns blaring, as thousands of farmers angry at high production costs shifted their protests to Athens.
“Without us, you don´t eat,” one banner said. Some farmers carried mock coffins and funeral garlands as symbols of their plight.
The farmers – whose demands are similar to those at farmer protests elsewhere in Europe – have spent weeks staging sporadic blockades along highways and in rural towns. Farmers in central Greece are also still reeling from major floods last year.
Thousands Of Farmers From Across Greece Marched In Athens’ Syntagma Square On Tuesday, February 20, 2024, Parking Their Tractors In Front The Parliament Building In Their Biggest Protest Over Rising Costs And Livelihoods Destroyed By Extreme Weather. Police Estimate At Least 8,000 Farmers With 130 Tractors Joined The Protest.(Photo by Panayotis Tzamaros/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Aerial view of farmers with tractors at Synyagma square during a protest rally by Greek farmers in Athens, Greece on February 20, 2024. (Photo by Nick Paleologos / SOOC / SOOC via AFP) (Photo by NICK PALEOLOGOS/SOOC/AFP via Getty Images)
(Photo by PaThousands Of Farmers From Across Greece Marched In Athens’ Syntagma Square On Tuesday, February 20, 2024, Parking Their Tractors In Front The Parliament Building In Their Biggest Protest Over Rising Costs And Livelihoods Destroyed By Extreme Weather. Police Estimate At Least 8,000 Farmers With 130 Tractors Joined The Protest.(Photo by Panayotis Tzamaros/NurPhoto via Getty Images)nayotis Tzamaros/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The center-right government has expressed sympathy with the farmers but said budgetary constraints prevent it from meeting all their demands, beyond substantial electricity cost reductions.
Protesters say that’s not enough. They want tax-free fuel, debt forgiveness, measures against foreign competition and speedier compensation for damage from natural disasters. Farmers also criticize the substantial markup in shelf prices compared to what wholesalers pay them for their produce.
Manolis Liakis, a farmer from the southern island of Crete, singled out fuel costs. He said farmers pay more than three times as much for petrol as shipping companies due to tax disparities.
“We can´t be producing and (selling) our products for ridiculously low prices while the consumer buys them at extremely high prices,” he said.
Tractors at Syntagma square during a protest rally by Greek farmers in Athens, Greece, on February 20, 2024. (Photo by Aris Oikonomou / SOOC / SOOC via AFP) (Photo by ARIS OIKONOMOU/SOOC/AFP via Getty Images)
Aerial view of farmers with tractors at Syntagma square during a protest by Greek farmers in Athens, Greece, on February 20, 2024. (Photo by Nick Paleologos / SOOC / SOOC via AFP) (Photo by NICK PALEOLOGOS/SOOC/AFP via Getty Images)
Greek farmers are riding their tractors to the parliament building as they stage a protest against the government’s agricultural policy at Syntagma Square in Athens, Greece, on February 20, 2024. (Photo by Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The rally ended peacefully. Some farmers planned to stay outside parliament all night and leave with their tractors Wednesday.
In a show of solidarity, hundreds of students joined the farmers and protested government plans to end the state monopoly on university education.
The government took back a previous threat to block Tuesday´s protest. Police were deployed to help divert highway traffic, and much of central Athens was blocked to motorists and public transport.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in a television interview Monday said he could not support additional tax breaks and concessions but wanted to continue discussions with protesters.
Tractors travel towards the city during a protest by Greek farmers in Athens, Greece, on February 20, 2024. (Photo by Nick Paleologos / SOOC / SOOC via AFP) (Photo by NICK PALEOLOGOS/SOOC/AFP via Getty Images)
Greek farmers arrive in tractors to gather in front of the Greek parliament during a protest against shrinking incomes, rising costs and what they say are increasingly onerous environmental rules in Athens on February 20, 2024. Hundreds of Greek farmers were heading to Athens on February 20, 2024 to demand financial aid after the government consented to an orderly protest in the capital. (Photo by Aris MESSINIS / AFP) (Photo by ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Greek farmers drive their tractors as they gather during a protest against shrinking incomes, rising costs and what they say are increasingly onerous environmental rules in Athens on February 20, 2024. Hundreds of Greek farmers were heading to Athens on February 20, 2024 to demand financial aid after the government consented to an orderly protest in the capital. (Photo by Aris MESSINIS / AFP) (Photo by ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images)