Farmers Blockade Major Roads

Greek farmers blockaded major roadways between Athens and Thessaloniki on 18 January 2010 to demand additional financial assistance from the government. The demonstrations caused traffic jams on several highways, leading to long travel delays. The protesters also gathered near the Promahonas Greek-Bulgarian border crossing, where approximately 5,000 farmers used tractors and other vehicles to block the crossing, leading to long lines of trucks. Farmers also blocked border crossings with Macedonia and Turkey. Protests by farmers over the same issue in early 2009 resulted in transportation disruptions that continued for a month.