Belgian farmers block traffic on an interchange near Namur in the south of the country, January 28, 2024 (AFP/Simon Wohlfahrt)
Belgian farmers blocked a highway in the south of Belgium on Sunday, a mobilization which joins the movement of anger among the agricultural world in France and Germany.
During a snail-like operation, dozens of tractors advanced on a major interchange before blocking traffic on the E42 motorway north of Namur in the south of the country.
It has become “impossible to earn a decent income” from agricultural activities, Pierre D’Hulst, spokesperson for the Federation of Young Farmers (FJA) of Belgium, which organized the demonstration, told AFP.
Belgian farmers block traffic on an interchange near Namur in the south of the country, January 28, 2024 (AFP/Simon Wohlfahrt)
“We are calling for a reform of the common agricultural policy which takes into account the reality on the ground,” he added. “All farmers must do more with less means. Farmers, they are ready to make efforts but to do that, they must be able to live decently.
Mr. d’Hulst also denounced competition with imported products which are not subject to the same standards.
Posters were plastered on the tractors: “Our end will be your hunger”, and “Childhood’s dream, adult’s nightmare”.
Farmers demonstrating in front of a football stadium on Sunday caused a match between FC Genk and the Sint-Truiden team to be postponed for around thirty minutes.
Belgian farmers block traffic on an interchange near Namur in the south of the country, January 28, 2024 (AFP/Simon Wohlfahrt)
“Europe does not stop squeezing, wringing and crushing its farmers,” said the Walloon Federation of Agriculture (FWA) on its website. “It’s time for this to stop! It’s time to put agricultural and agronomic realities back at the center of European decisions!”, added the union.
On Saturday, around a hundred tractors carried out a large-scale action on the circular road around the city of Mons, where the Festival of Lights takes place.
The anger of farmers was expressed in several European countries, particularly in France, where farmers in the Paris region announced their intention to begin on Monday “a siege of the capital for an indefinite period” and to block the gigantic food market from Rungis to the south of Paris.
Protests have also increased in Germany, Poland, Romania and the Netherlands, as the European Union faces mounting demands ahead of European elections scheduled for June amid the rise of the far right .
© 2024 AFP
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