Tens of thousands of farmers and their supporters warned on Wednesday they would bring Poland to a standstill, after violent clashes with police outside the country’s parliament in Warsaw.
The protesters had gathered at the prime minister’s office in the Polish capital, burning tyres and throwing firecrackers as they demanded a halt to cheap imports and environmental regulations they say harm their livelihoods.
They then marched towards parliament, where a Reuters witness saw police using batons, pepper spray, tear gas and stun grenades against demonstrators, while some protesters hurled rocks, cobblestones and firecrackers at the security forces.
“Due to physical aggression against police officers by some of the people protesting … it was necessary to use direct coercive measures,” Warsaw police wrote in a post on X.
Farmers across the European Union have been calling for changes to restrictions placed on them by the bloc’s Green Deal plan to tackle climate change, and for the re-imposition of customs duties on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine that were waived after Russia’s invasion.
Obszanski said that the farmers were leaving Warsaw empty handed after their request to meet with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was turned down and warned of further measures.
“After what happened today, there will be a blockade of the entire country … Poland will come to a standstill, because a Polish farmer will not allow himself to be treated in such a way, to be batonned,” Obszanski said.
Tusk has invited farmers leaders for talks on Saturday.
Obszanski estimated the number of protesters was in the high tens of thousands, while Warsaw city officials said they numbered about 30,000.
The farmers, who were making good on their promise to return to Warsaw after thousands of them marched through the city a week earlier, have been backed by Poland’s biggest labour union NSZZ Solidarnosc, as well as hunters and forestry workers.
Earlier some protesters burned a coffin bearing a sign that read “farmer, lived 20 years, killed by the Green Deal” in the street in front of Tusk’s office, blowing horns and holding Polish flags aloft before marching on parliament.
Television footage showed tractors on the outskirts of Warsaw being stopped from entering, while farmers blocked roads elsewhere in the country.
Tusk faces a delicate balancing act, seeking to address farmers’ concerns while also maintaining its staunch support for Kyiv in a year where it faces both local and European elections.