Hundreds angry farmers drove their tractors into Belgium's capital city, causing major traffic disruptions. Photo / AP
Hundreds angry farmers drove their tractors into Belgium's capital city, causing major traffic disruptions. Photo / AP
Thousands of tractors driven by furious farmers brought a European capital to a standstill last week during a wild protest against a divisive new government plan.
The streets of Brussels were “paralysed” by the huge protest, which took place during peak hour on Friday evening and was held over plans to limit nitrogen emissions from agriculture.
It was staged by farmers from Flanders in northern Belgium, with authorities estimating that around 2700 tractors – many bearing signs and flags – had taken over the city.
In fact, the turnout was so massive it caused a total traffic gridlock, leading to many abandoning their vehicles and joining the march on foot instead.
The effort to cut nitrogen emissions has emerged as a hugely controversial issue in Europe, with similar protests held in the Netherlands in 2022.
Farmers with their tractors light tyres on fire as they block traffic on a road leading into the centre of Brussels. Photo / AP
Now, Belgian farmers are pitted against environmentalists over the plan, which supporters say is essential to reduce levels of nitrogen pollution in the soil and water that are in breach of emissions thresholds set by the European Union.
The reduction measures have been suggested as nitrogen fertilisers cause climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions, leading to widespread biodiversity loss and ecosystem disruption across the continent.
However, critics claim it could end up putting farmers out of business, and that the agriculture industry will be bearing the brunt of the changes, instead of sharing the burden equally among farmers and industry.
“Farmers have paralysed the city as thousands of tractors protest about new EU agricultural targets and the forced purchase of farms,” one Twitter user wrote of the protest, after sharing footage of the mass demonstration.
“They didn’t vote for this! They were never given the chance to.”
BRUSSELS - Farmers have paralysed the city as thousands of tractors protest about new EU agricultural targets and the forced purchase of farms.
They didn’t vote for this! They were never given the chance to 🔥
A group of agriculture organisations claimed in a joint statement that the current nitrogen agreement “will cause a socio-economic carnage” within the sector.
A consensus has not been able to be reached after weeks of negotiations, leaving the regional government in chaos.
Nele Kempeneers, a spokeswoman for farmers’ association Boerenbond, which was one of the unions that organised the rally, said the plan would be disastrous for the sector.
“It’s an economic and social catastrophe,” Kempeneers said, according to Politico.
“A lot of farmers will have to limit the number of animals that they keep, or simply close down.”
“We have the impression that political games are being played, and the farmers are paying the price,” president of the General Farmers’ Syndicate, Hendrik Vandamme, toldBelga News Agencyahead of the demonstration.
Farmers with their tractors sit on the street as they block traffic on a road leading into the centre of Brussels. Photo / AP
The dramatic protest saw city streets clogged with tractors, with some protesters lighting tyres and starting fires in dramatic scenes.
The main routes through the city – home to more than 2.1 million inhabitants – were blocked off, with farmers participating in the rally honking their horns and waving protest signs.
