German farmers will be paralyzing the country with their tractors from Monday January 8, 2024 and throughout the week. They are opposed to the government’s agricultural policy and austerity plan.
The week from January 8 to 15, 2024, promises to be a busy one across Germany. Tractor convoys and rallies are planned in all Länder to denounce the federal government’s agricultural policy. The Farmers’ Union, Germany’s largest farmers’ union, called on participants this weekend to refrain from actions aimed at politicians.
Demonstrations from North to South Germany
Numerous actions are planned for Monday, from Flensburg to Lake Constance. Demonstrations are planned in Hamburg, Bremen, Potsdam, Magdeburg and Halle, as well as in the Rhine-Main region and Saarland. Rallies are also planned in Munich, Erfurt and Ravensburg in southern Baden-Württemberg.
In Berlin, a demonstration is scheduled to take place at the Brandenburg Gate. In North Rhine-Westphalia, larger rallies are planned in Cologne, Bonn, east of Dortmund and in Münster.
Roads and freeways paralyzed
Access to the freeways, which will be blocked in several Länder, is expected to be one of the highlights of the demonstrations. Germans can therefore expect massive traffic jams. Economic life will inevitably slow down, and it’s a safe bet that students won’t be attending schools and universities.
Agricultural Europe in crisis
Other sectors of the economy took advantage of the farmers’ anger to join the protest movement. Dirk Engelhardt, President of the Federal Freight Transport and Logistics Association, warned that if truck drivers also went on strike, there could be supply difficulties. The Bavarian Hotel and Catering Association, for its part, declared its solidarity with the farmers. Bakers and butchers, who are suffering from sharp energy price rises, are also threatening to join these actions, which are likely to paralyze the whole of Germany.
So far, Germany’s Minister of Agriculture, Cem Özdemir, an environmentalist of Turkish origin, has been unmoved by threats and racist insults.
The economic crisis could soon move into the political arena. And quickly spread to other countries. The whole of Europe is on the brink of chaos.
Le 8 janvier la grève générale démarre en Allemagne : paysans, routiers, trains ! pic.twitter.com/iNVuRAehwl
— 🇫🇷. Or-well (@GillesWell) December 27, 2023