Angry farmers form tractor blockades across Germany in subsidies row

Farmers across Germany formed blockades in city centres and motorways in opposition to agriculture tax breaks being cut, continuing a growing rise in industrial action across various sectors in the country.

In Berlin, tractors lined up in the city centre on Monday, 8 January, blasting their horns and some wearing signs to signal their anger.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz was planning to cut subsidies for agriculture, which prompted a run of protests in December 2023, where demonstrators blocked roads and dumped manure on the street.

An agriculture vehicle tax discount will now remain in place, but angered farmers have called for a complete reversal of the plan