German farmers’ bonfire protests over tougher rules

GERMAN farmers last night set up “warning bonfires” at hundreds of sites across the country in a continuation of protests against new environmental regulations that have caught Berlin on the back foot.

The bonfires come sharp on the heels of a huge demonstration in the capital, when close to 9,000 tractors converged on the Brandenburg Gate – many farmers driving overnight from far-flung regions.

“We feel that [the] government is being driven by green groups and NGOs. They are chasing the Green Party vote and ignoring farmers even though we are their core voters,” said Helmut Lebacher, the organiser of a bonfire in the small Bavarian village of Tyrlaching.

The cattle farmer claimed that everstricter regulations were threatening the financial viability of small farms.

“I invested a million euros in a new cow shed five years ago, but it wouldn’t get planning today,” he complained.

Fellow farmer Matthius Michaelbauer, said: “We are always the bogeyman. The media reports negatively on pesticides and fertiliser without giving the full picture.”

Unlike in France, where farmers blocking motorways are an integral part of the political landscape, Germany’s rural communities are not known for their activism. But discontent has been bubbling under the surface. Tractor protests in Munich over a collapse in milk prices in 2015 provided a taste of what was to come.

The current demonstrations started in October after Angela Merkel’s government agreed on a new agriculture bill, which sets tough new limits on fertilisers and pesticide usage.

The Green Party accused farmers of “ignoring the seriousness of biodiversity loss and water pollution”.

Critics claim that a powerful agrolobby has protected a retrograde EU subsidy system while stalling efforts to restrict the use of the potentially carcinogenic pesticide glyphosate.

German farming is big business and agricultural exports amounted to 70billion euros (£59billion) last year.

Strikes disrupted weekend travel around France yesterday as truckers blocked highways and most trains remained at a standstill because of worker anger at President Emmanuel Macron’s policies, while yellow vest protesters held their weekly demonstrations over economic injustice in Paris and other cities.