Donald Tusk, Poland’s EU-friendly Prime Minister, sent in riot police to quell angry protests in Warsaw involving farmers who threw stones at police and tried to push through barriers, injuring several officers.
Police said they detained over a dozen people and prevented the protesters from getting through to the Sejm, the Polish parliament, with footage showing angry confrontations in the nation’s capital.
Farmers are furious at EU climate policies and food imports from Ukraine which they claim threaten their livelihoods. Such protests have occurred across the 27-member EU in recent weeks, but this one was significantly rowdier than earlier demonstrations in the central European nation.
Police noted on X, formerly Twitter, that its officers “are not a party to the ongoing dispute” and warned that behaviour threatening their safety “cannot be taken lightly and requires a firm and decisive response”.
Deputy agriculture minister Michał Kołodziejczak said he did not believe that “real, normal farmers caused a riot in front of the Sejm today,” and that it was necessary to isolate “provocateurs and troublemakers.” He did not identify who he thought was behind the violence.
Farmers on tractors blocked highways leading into Warsaw while thousands of their supporters gathered in front of the prime minister’s office before marching to the parliament.
Some trampled a European Union flag and burned a mock coffin bearing the word “farmer”. Another picture showed an EU flag going up in flames.
Farmers were joined by miners, foresters, hunters and other supporters. They blew horns and set off firecrackers and smoke bombs, despite police warnings that the use of pyrotechnics was banned. Some protesters burned tires.
Protesters are demanding a withdrawal from the EU’s Green Deal, a plan meant to fight climate change and protect biodiversity, including plans requiring farmers to reduce the excessive use of polluting chemicals to boost their crops. The protests have led politicians to water down some provisions.
The protesters also want the Polish-Ukrainian border closed to stop the imports of Ukrainian food products, which farmers say drive down market prices and put Poland’s agricultural sector in jeopardy.
The protest increased pressure on the government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a former president of the European Council who is strongly pro-EU and seeks to support Ukraine as it fights Russia’s invasion.
Tusk has sought to meet the farmers’ demands, calling their frustrations justified. He has said he plans to propose amendments to the Green Deal.
Anti-Ukrainian slogans have featured at the protests in Poland, where authorities have said they are concerned that Russia is trying to leverage legitimate concerns to create divisions between Warsaw and Kyiv.
Agriculture, forestry and fishing make up less than three percent of Poland’s GDP, according to the World Bank.
