Dutch motoring organisation ANWB reported over 1,360 km of traffic jams on national motorways alone. Morning commuters found themselves stuck in traffic for hours, or did not even make it to work until early afternoon.
Tractors from all over the country headed towards the Netherlands’ administrative capital The Hague, where farmers protested on the city’s Maliveld for being seen as, what they believe, the scapegoats for excessive nitrogen pollution.
According to public broadcaster NOS, three people have been arrested for driving through closed off areas. Although protests remained fairly calm, more farmers showed up than initially expected. The Hague mayor Pauline Krikke warned of an “unsafe situation”, as tractors kept gathering in the city’s central park. Protests were also organised in Groningen and Scheveningen, where tractors were parked on the beach.
Liberal MP Tjeerd de Groot blamed livestock production for massive emissions, calling for production to be halved.
Formal protests kicked off at 1pm, when Minister for Agriculture Carola Schouten said in a passionate speech that she respected the hard work and dedication invested by farmers, and valued their importance for the economy and people. Although reforms in agriculture would be needed to prevent further climate change, she said that “as long as I am Minister of Agriculture, there will be no halving of production”.
The tractor caravan was making its way back out of the city at 4pm, disrupting rush hour traffic again.
