THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) – Farmers in northern Greece blocked traffic on the country’s main highway Tuesday, intensifying nationwide protests against austerity measures demanded by bailout lenders.
Protest organizers said a tractor blockade on the highway linking Athens to Greece’s second largest city, Thessaloniki, would be in effect indefinitely unless the government withdrew proposals for tax hikes and an overhaul of the pension system.
Blockades on secondary roads, used by drivers to bypass the highway, were also being stepped up.
“They are asking farmers to pay higher taxes even if they have no income … It’s impossible,” said Yiannis Zacharias, a blockade organizer in northern Greece.
The new austerity measures have prompted broad protests against Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ year-old leftwing government, with strikes from a range of professional groups, from lawyers to ferry workers.