The anger of part of the Belgian agricultural world, fueled by the German and French mobilizations, spread widely on Monday January 29, and led to numerous disruptions on the country’s roads.
Traffic was hampered in several Walloon provinces, mainly on the highway which crosses the region, from the French border to the German border. Hundreds of tractors have disrupted traffic there since Sunday evening. Actions were also organized in the provinces of Hainaut, Namur and Luxembourg, with blocking or filtering dams.
Two parts of the “ring”, the Brussels ring road, were cut off on Monday, causing major traffic jams. In Halle, southwest of the capital, one of the main entry and exit routes from the city-region, traffic was cut off throughout the day. Demonstrators blocked the logistics center of Colruyt, one of the major Belgian supermarket brands. An Aldi group center was also targeted in the province of Antwerp.
In Brussels, the first tractors appeared near the European Parliament. Farmers from all regions, but also from France and other countries, plan to go to the capital on Wednesday, on the eve of an extraordinary European summit. The determination of some of them is summarized on a banner affixed to a tractor: “Agriculture as a child you dream of it, as an adult you die of it. And if we die, then Europe will die with us”.
Common demands
What will be the attitude of the police, who have until now been content to support and supervise the actions but fear excesses near the building where the heads of state and government will be meeting? “They will first focus on dialogue and consultation, both with farmers and with their organizations on the ground”assured Nick Gyselinck, spokesperson for the Minister of the Interior, Annelies Verlinden.
The latter said that the demonstrators could be heard “in places to which they attach symbolic importance”, provided that traffic is not completely obstructed. The National Crisis Center, which brings together all the services responsible for security, “will monitor the situation hour by hour”specified Mme Verlinden.
The Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, and the Federal Minister of Agriculture, David Clarinval, were to meet representatives of the agricultural world on Tuesday to try to calm things down. Mr. Clarinval declared last week that “objectives that are too ambitious” of the European Green Deal should undoubtedly be ” challenged “.
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