Thousands of Czech farmers protest against agricultural policy
Thousands of farmers in the Czech Republic have protested against the agricultural policy of the government and the European Union.
One farmer unloaded a huge pile of manure in front of the seat of government on the banks of the Vltava river in Prague on Thursday. According to the police, he was temporarily detained and now faces charges for an administrative offence.
"Desperate people do desperate things," the Czech Agricultural Chamber president, Jan Doležal, told Radio Prague International.
The demonstrators drove through the Czech capital in around 700 tractors and other agricultural vehicles causing traffic disruption for cars and public transport.
Among other things, the farmers are demanding a reversal of the recent property tax increase and the creation of jobs in the countryside through targeted social security benefits.
They also criticized the EU's Green Deal, which aims to make Europe a climate-neutral continent by 2050, as well as import breaks for Ukrainian agricultural products.
