Thousands of farmers escalated nationwide protests, tightening tractor blockades that have severed key transport arteries and clashing with riot police as the standoff with the government deepened.
From Thessaly to the Peloponnese, protesters vowed to maintain the barricades until the administration offers concrete solutions to soaring production costs and delayed subsidies.
The mobilization has evolved into the most disruptive agricultural unrest in years, with organizers signaling they are prepared for a long-term siege—some have even deployed tents and heaters, warning they are ready to spend Christmas on the highways.
In the movement’s epicenter at the Nikaia junction near Larissa, more than 1,300 tractors formed a massive barricade, disrupting the country’s primary north-south axis. Another 3,000 vehicles have amassed in Karditsa and along a main motorway.
Tensions flared in Corinth, where riot police fired tear gas to disperse roughly 200 farmers attempting to block the national highway.
Meanwhile, in northern Greece, protesters breached police lines near the Promachonas border crossing with Bulgaria, though they stopped short of shutting down the frontier.
At the Malgara tolls near Thessaloniki, southbound lanes remained closed for a fourth consecutive day.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has urged dialogue, warning that extended disruptions risk harming the economy.
However, unions are demanding financial relief rather than general assurances.
With new blockades emerging in Epirus and the Peloponnese, organizers warned the next 48 hours will determine whether the unrest escalates into a prolonged national confrontation.