In the capital of Belgium, Brussels, there were serious clashes between rioting European farmers and law enforcement officers.
The first ones poured manure on the police in response to the use of a water cannon against them.
All this action took place on March 26 in the European Quarter of the city – where meetings of the Council of the European Union at the level of ministers of agriculture are held.
Blocking by tractors
According to TASS, the clashes involved farmers from at least five EU countries.
They, the farmers, blocked some of the entrances to the European Quarter with tractors and even blocked the main street of the location, Rue de la Loix, for some time.
By the way, ironically (or perhaps this was deliberately intended by the farmers), the key transport artery of the area is called Law Street.
Police say the rioters used about 250 tractors.
Manure vs water cannon
The most radical protesters dumped several trailers of manure on the road right in front of the European Parliament building on Luxembourg Square.
There, aggressive representatives of agriculture lit fires from wooden boxes.
They didn’t stop there. They started throwing fireworks and firecrackers towards the police. The latter were behind barbed wire barriers.
In response, law enforcement officers used tear gas and water cannons. Angry farmers began to water them with manure using a special machine.
How the battle ended
It is reported that after 40 minutes the warring parties calmed down: the police returned to their positions, the farmers returned to their tractors.
In Brussels, farmers once again voiced their demands against the import of imported agricultural products into the EU without high duties.
This, they say, significantly reduces the prices of their products and puts the business at a loss.
Many note that now we are not even talking about losses, but about the “survival” of farmers and the entire agricultural sector of Europe.
Earlier, rioters organized a protest in central London.
