Highlights: German farmers have been protesting across the country for a week. They are protesting against the questioning of subsidies decided by the government in favour of diesel used by vehicles. This deeper-rooted mobilization culminated in a large demonstration in Berlin on Monday. The police counted 6,000 and only the early risers were able to have a front-row seat on the main East-West axis that leads to the Brandenburg Gate. Politicians have realised that the current protests go beyond the diesel measures and reflect a deeper and more lasting malaise.

German farmers have been protesting across the country for a week. They are protesting against the questioning of subsidies decided by the government in favour of diesel used by vehicles...

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Diesel anger for German farmers

German farmers have been protesting across the country for a week. They are protesting against the government's reconsideration of subsidies for diesel used in agricultural vehicles. This deeper-rooted mobilization culminated in a large demonstration in Berlin on Monday.

An angry German farmer during the protest near the Brandenburg Gate on January 15, 2024. © Ebrahim Noroozi/AP

By: Pascal Thibaut Follow

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From our correspondent in Berlin,

The tractors had already started their ascent to the German capital over the weekend. Farmers slept in the city centre in their machines to be hard at work for the big demonstration on Monday. Berliners constantly heard the loud horns of vehicles that paralyzed the city. The police counted 6,000 and only the early risers were able to have a front-row seat on the main East-West axis that leads to the Brandenburg Gate.

Until now, German farmers have been part of the social categories that have been little talked about since the current government came to power. The Green Minister of Agriculture, Cem Özdemir, a "red rag" for the agricultural world, preferred not to clash head-on with his interlocutors. But the budget impasse to be resolved at the end of 2023 has led to a series of cost-saving measures. Various subsidies have been called into question, including two for the benefit of farmers: exemption from taxes on agricultural vehicles and public support for diesel used by these same vehicles.

Faced with peasant discontent, the government hastily abandoned the first measure. But this was not enough to calm the revolt of the interested parties. A farmer from Brandenburg (eastern Germany) who took part in Monday's demonstration in Berlin summed up: "Our demands are justified and must be met, otherwise our farms will be threatened. It's sad that it took the government four weeks to agree to talk."

Chancellor Scholz's coalition, after backtracking for the first time, does not want to call into question the abolition of diesel subsidies, which is now spread over three years. To the boos of thousands of cheering farmers, the liberal finance minister, Christian Lindner, shouted at midday at the foot of the Brandenburg Gate to get his message across: "Everyone must be involved. In the interests of taxpayers, I must always ask myself what subsidies are needed and what alternatives exist. The minister also pointed out that German farmers receive almost €10 billion in public funds from Berlin and Brussels.

A speech by the Minister of Finance that did not pass

Get out", "liar": the crowd clearly rejected Christian Lindner's speech. A few pyrotechnics landed near the stage where the minister was standing, whose bodyguards were on edge. No matter how much the Minister of Finance has expressed his sympathy for the agricultural cause, nothing has been done. Proposals to reduce bureaucracy or reform the tax system failed to appease the protesters. Leaders from the agricultural sector will later be received by the parliamentary groups of the ruling coalition in the Bundestag. It is in the lower house that the government's proposed cost-saving measures must be adopted, or not, in the last resort. The Minister of Agriculture, like others, is proposing a tax on food products that would be paid by consumers and that would benefit farms.

The current conflict is likely to result in a compromise that will allow the government not to retreat completely, while at the same time demonstrating its goodwill towards the agricultural community. Politicians have realised that the current protests go beyond the diesel measures and reflect a deeper and more lasting malaise. A malaise that also goes beyond the challenges of the agricultural sector. In Berlin on Monday, many placards and banners demanded the departure of the highly unpopular Scholz government. At the foot of the Brandenburg Gate, a symbol of German division, some chanted "We are the people", the famous slogan of the peaceful revolution in the communist GDR in the autumn of 1989.

Extremist forces have infiltrated the protests in recent days. The German farmers' federation rejected calls for violence. Chancellor Olaf Scholz also condemned them in a video message on Saturday. The far-right Alternative for Germany party is also seeking to capitalise on this deep-seated discontent, as it has done in the past with other protests, even though the AfD in its programme rejects subsidies for agriculture.

Diesel anger for German farmers

Diesel anger for German farmers

A speech by the Minister of Finance that did not pass

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