ATHENS, Greece (AP) – Thousands of brightly colored tractors were parked outside Greece’s parliament Tuesday, honking their horns, as thousands of farmers angry over high production costs moved their protests to Athens. It rang out.
“You can’t eat without us,” one banner read. Some farmers carried mock coffins and wreaths as symbols of their plight.
The farmers, whose demands are similar to farmers’ protests elsewhere in Europe, have spent weeks staging sporadic blockades along highways and in rural towns. Farmers in central Greece are also still suffering from last year’s devastating floods.
On Tuesday, February 20, 2024, thousands of farmers from all over Greece marched on Syntagma Square in Athens and parked their tractors in front of Parliament in the largest protest over costs and livelihoods destroyed by extreme weather. Police estimate that at least 8,000 farmers and 130 tractors took part in the protests (Photo by Panayotis Tzamaros/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Aerial view of farmers with tractors at Sinyagma Square during a protest by Greek farmers on February 20, 2024 in Athens, Greece. (Photo by Nick Paleologos/SOOC/SOOC via AFP) (Photo by NICK PALEOLOGOS/SOOC/AFP via Getty Images)
(Photo credit: Pa Thousands of farmers from all over Greece march on Syntagma Square in Athens on Tuesday, February 20, 2024, driving tractors to the parliament building in the biggest protest against the costs and livelihoods destroyed by extreme weather. Farmers with 130 tractors, who police estimate are at least 8,000, took part in the protest. (Photo by Panayotis Tzamaros/NurPhoto via Getty Images)nayotis Tzamaros/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The centre-right government has expressed sympathy for the farmers, but said budget constraints prevent it from meeting all their demands other than sharply reducing electricity bills.
Protesters say that’s not enough. They want tax exemptions on fuel, debt forgiveness, measures against foreign competition and prompt compensation for damages caused by natural disasters. Farmers also criticize the huge increase in shelf prices compared to what wholesalers pay for their produce.
Manolis Liakis, a farmer on southern Crete, cited fuel costs. He said farmers were paying more than three times as much for gas as shipping companies due to tax disparities.
“We can’t manufacture and (sell) products at ridiculously low prices while consumers buy them at very high prices,” he said.
Tractors in Syntagma Square during a protest 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 on February 20, 2024 in Athens, Greece. (Photo by Nick Paleologos/SOOC/SOOC via AFP) (Photo by NICK PALEOLOGOS/SOOC/AFP via Getty Images)
Greek farmers ride tractors to the parliament building at Syntagma Square in Athens, Greece, on February 20, 2024. (Photo by Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The rally ended peacefully. Some farmers remained outside parliament overnight and were scheduled to leave on tractors on Wednesday.
In a show of solidarity, hundreds of students joined farmers to protest against government plans to end the state monopoly on university education.
The government reversed an earlier threat to block Tuesday’s protests. Police were called in to divert traffic on highways, and large parts of central Athens were closed to cars and public transport.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a television interview on Monday that he could not support further tax cuts or concessions, but wanted to continue talks with protesters.
A tractor heads into the city during a protest by Greek farmers in Athens, Greece, February 20, 2024. (Photo by Nick Paleologos/SOOC/SOOC via AFP) (Photo by NICK PALEOLOGOS/SOOC/AFP via Getty Images)
Greek farmers gather on tractors outside the Greek parliament during a protest against declining incomes, rising costs and increasingly difficult environmental regulations in Athens, February 20, 2024. Hundreds of Greek farmers were heading to Athens on February 20 to demand financial aid in 2024 after the government agreed to orderly protests in the capital. (Photo credit: Aris MESSINIS/AFP) (Photo credit: ARIS MESSINIS/AFP, Getty Images)
Greek farmers drive tractors as they gather to protest against declining incomes, rising costs and increasingly onerous environmental regulations in Athens, February 20, 2024. The support came after the government agreed to an orderly protest in the capital on February 20, 2024, when hundreds of Greek farmers headed to Athens to demand funding. (Photo credit: Aris MESSINIS/AFP) (Photo credit: ARIS MESSINIS/AFP, Getty Images)
Aerial view of tractors at Sinyagma Square during a protest by Greek farmers in Athens, Greece, February 20, 2024. (Photo by Nick Paleologos/SOOC/SOOC via AFP) (Photo by NICK PALEOLOGOS/SOOC/AFP via Getty Images) )
