Enlarge image
Farmers near Magdeburg: manure and burning tires on the road
Photo: Thomas Schulz / dpa
Farmers set fire to tires and dumped manure on the streets during a protest in Magdeburg during the night. According to the dpa news agency, the farmers blocked a road in an industrial area in the north of the city. The police were on site with several emergency vehicles and repeatedly extinguished the burned tires.
The protest shows the extent of frustration within the profession, the Saxony-Anhalt Farmers' Association announced on Thursday. They wanted a clear signal from the federal government that the protest was being taken into account. “As long as this situation exists, further protests must be expected,” said a spokesman for the association.
On Wednesday, farmers held another protest and blocked many motorway entrances in Saxony-Anhalt with vehicles for hours. The background to the protests is the budget discussions in the Bundestag. The traffic light coalition wants to gradually abolish tax breaks for farmers on agricultural diesel.
Farmers block A24 with more than 20 tractors
There were also protests in Brandenburg on Thursday: More than 20 tractors blocked the A24 towards Hamburg near Wittstock in the Ostprignitz-Ruppin district. The tractors drove onto the highway and blocked the direction of travel for about an hour, the police department said. The farmers did not register the protest. A police officer broke up the meeting on site and the farmers drove off the highway.
The spokeswoman pointed out that tractors are generally not allowed to drive on motorways. This represents a significant encroachment and a danger to traffic. According to the police, reports were filed for violating the Assembly Act and for dangerous interference with road traffic.
According to the information, farmers in the Wittstock and Pritzwalk area also gathered at junctions on the A24 and A19 to protest.
wit/dpa