March 6, 2024 – 4:54 pm
Farmers demonstrate in front of the office of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw, March 6, 2024 – Photograph: Kasper Pempel/Reuters
Clashes broke out between police and protesting farmers during the day in central Warsaw on Wednesday. the Wyborcza According to his report, the demonstrators threw stones and firecrackers at the police. A number of police officers were injured and a number of demonstrators were arrested.
For weeks, farmers have been demanding the rejection of the European Union's Green Agreement and the suspension of imports of food products from Ukraine. the Notes from Polandand other local media reports, riots broke out shortly after the demonstration began on Wednesday morning: demonstrators set a fire in front of the Prime Minister's Office, and demonstrators clashed with police, while some threw firecrackers at them.
Protesters were hoping to drive tractors into the city as part of the demonstration. However, Mayor Rafael Trzaskowski – a party colleague of Prime Minister Donald Tusk – refused them permission, stating that the machines would have a “dangerous and devastating” impact on the population. However, some farmers tried to drive to the city center with tractors, but were stopped by police.
Protesters also burned a coffin in front of Tusk's office with the words “Farmer killed over Green Deal” written on it, in reference to the European Union's climate protection package.
Farmers have also started a series of demonstrations in Poland over cheap Ukrainian grain and EU climate protection measures, which they believe harm the interests of local producers. Their protest initially consisted of blocking roads in Poland and border crossings with Ukraine. They held their first mass demonstration in Warsaw last week, and it was peaceful. Donald Tusk recently met with farmer representatives, and the Prime Minister announced on Tuesday that he would sit down to negotiate with them again on Saturday.
