Severe scenes of violence have shaken the island of Crete this Monday, where the Greek farmers' protest has escalated in an unprecedented way.
In Chania and Heraklion, large crowds of protesters clashed with police forces near the airports. In Chania, farmers broke through the police cordon, overturned a police vehicle and forced special forces to retreat, despite the use of tear gas. In Heraklion, dozens of protesters broke through to the airport runway, causing its temporary closure.
Today's protest is part of a national movement that has been going on since late November. Farmers are demanding an acceleration of EU subsidies and a reduction in production costs, accusing the unfair distribution of financial aid only to individuals connected to power.
In the north of the country, blockades continue at the Promahonas customs with Bulgaria, on the Egnatia highway near Kozani, as well as in Karditsa and Thessaly, where hundreds of tractors are paralyzing strategic roads. In some areas the protests are symbolic, while in others the situation has degenerated into direct clashes with the police.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called for calm, promising that subsidy payments and support measures will be made by December. But farmers are warning that they will intensify their actions if their demands are not met immediately.
The situation remains tense, and authorities expect the protests to expand during the day, turning into one of the most serious farmer mobilizations in Greece in recent years.
