Spain Farmers Disrupt Madrid Traffic In Protest Against Excessive Red Tape, Insufficient State Aid

Convoys of tractors disrupted traffic around the Spanish capital on Wednesday as farmers protesting against what they see as excessive red tape and insufficient state aid converged in downtown Madrid to march towards the Agriculture Ministry. Farmers have been protesting for weeks across European countries, most recently including Poland, Greece and the Czech Republic. They all call for a reduction of bureaucracy linked to the European Union’s Common Agriculture Policy and a loosening of the bloc’s environmental rules. As they waited for five columns of tractors to reach the gathering point at the central Independence Square, protesters wearing yellow vests waved Spanish flags and rang cow bells there while blaring music from loudspeakers. Traffic around the Puerta de Alcala monument ground to a halt, with several buses unable to continue their routes as protesters crowded the streets. Some farmers complained that police were preventing tractors from entering Madrid. The government said that 500 tractors had been allowed entry - as that was the figure given by organisers when requesting authorisation for the protest - while an additional 150 vehicles were blocked from the city. #farmersprotest #spain #protestlive #livenews n18oc_world n18oc_crux CRUX is your daily video news guide to the big events that are shaping our world. We track news, geopolitics, diplomacy and defence strategies and explain how they shape national policies. Crux makes sense of global developments, and analyses their impact on daily lives. Follow CRUX on Telegram: Follow CRUX on Instagram (@): Follow CRUX on Facebook: #GetCloserToTheNews with latest headlines on politics, sports and entertainment on Also watch: Crux Decode: Crux : Crux Most Watched: