A driver hit a demonstrator near Friesoythe in Lower Saxony and seriously injured him, as the police in Oldenburg announced on the short message service X, formerly Twitter. The driver wanted to avoid a blockade on a footpath and cycle path and collided with a protest participant. According to the officers, the driver initially fled, but was later caught.
In Erfurt, the police counted 1,600 vehicles during the farmers’ protests there. In many places there were tractor convoys and temporary blockages of motorway entrances. Production was stopped at the VW plant in Emden. It was not possible for the employees to come to work, said a company spokeswoman.
In some cities, farmers received support from truck drivers and craftsmen. The German Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) warned against the farmers’ protests being hijacked by extreme forces.
“Calls are circulating with fantasies of subversion. Extremist groups are forming, ethnic nationalist symbols are openly displayed. It is becoming clear that something has slipped in recent years, which is delimiting legitimate democratic protest and freedom of expression,” said the Green Party leader. Politician in a video shared on social media. In it he also called for a debate about changing agriculture.
In many places in Germany, drivers, students and bus passengers have to prepare for severe disruptions due to the protests. Several state education ministries announced that students would be excused if they could not make it to class because of the actions.
Farmers’ association called for a week of action
The farmers’ association has called for a week of action to demonstrate against the removal of subsidies for the industry. The main issue is the tax relief for agricultural diesel. The fact that the government in Berlin has withdrawn part of its austerity plans is not enough for the association. After an escalated protest against Economics Minister Habeck on the North Sea, the farmers’ association also called on its supporters to exercise moderation at the weekend and called for actions in front of politicians’ homes and personal hostilities to be avoided.
The call for protest fell on fertile ground among farmers and some supporting groups: In several federal states, including Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Brandenburg, farmers blocked motorway entrances with their tractors. In Lower Saxony, farmers temporarily parked the vehicles on the highways themselves.
1000 vehicles in Wiesbaden, 700 in Kiel
Several cities were destinations for rallies, including Mainz, Stralsund and Siegburg. Around 700 vehicles were on the road in Kiel on Monday in connection with the protests. In Wiesbaden there were 1,000. In Hamburg, however, the feared major traffic chaos did not materialize.
The farmers’ association sees the future viability of the companies at risk and called again on Monday for the planned cuts to be reversed. “They are taking away the future of agriculture. Above all, we end up jeopardizing the secure supply of local, high-quality food,” said association president Joachim Rukwied on the German RBB Inforadio.
Average profits of companies increased
According to the federal government, a loss of tax relief for agricultural diesel means additional costs of around 3,000 euros per year on average per company. According to industry information, the general profitability situation in agriculture had recently improved further after a long dry spell. In the 2022/23 financial year that ended at the end of June, the average profit of the companies rose to a record level of 115,400 euros – an increase of 45 percent compared to the previous year. However, investments still have to be paid for, among other things.
In view of falling prices for grain and milk, for example, the German farmers’ association had already expressed pessimism about future business prospects before the traffic light plans became known. Additional production requirements and uncertain financing for restructuring animal husbandry have been causing a lot of frustration among farmers for years. In order to demonstrate greater appreciation, there were farmers’ protests with tractors across Germany at the end of 2019.
Because: Government should come clean
Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil also called for the cuts to be reversed. The German government should come clean and end the conflict, said the SPD head of government on ZDF’s “Morgenmagazin”. The German federal government is planning to gradually phase out tax subsidies for agricultural diesel. Another proposal to overturn the tax exemption for agricultural machinery is off the table. Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer accused the traffic light coalition of being unwilling to engage in dialogue.
The planned blockades met with criticism from German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser: “Anyone who blocks other people in their everyday lives who have to rush to work, school or the doctor is, first and foremost, causing anger and a lack of understanding,” said the SPD politician the “Rheinische Post”. Legitimate protest ends where others’ rights are violated.
The Magdeburg extremism researcher Matthias Quent demanded that the protesting farmers clearly differentiate themselves from right-wing followers. Nationalist, right-wing extremist and conspiracy ideology actors tried to exploit the movement politically, Quent said on Deutschlandfunk. They are not interested in agricultural diesel, they “want to paralyze Germany”. Quent is a professor at the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences.
