March 11, 2026

Athens News

News in English from Greece

Farmers began a 48-hour blockade of roads and customs


Greek farmers proceeded to implement decisions on 48-hour road blockagesstating that the support measures announced by the government are not a solution, but a mockery.

They demand direct meeting with the Prime Minister and at the same time increasing blockades on key sections of the road network: ΠΑΘΕ, Tempi, Ιόνια Οδός and a row customs points in the north of the country.

Farmers from the blockade Nikea on tractors and agricultural machinery headed towards the tunnels Tempiwhere they intend to block traffic in both directions. Representative of the blockade coordinating committee Rizos Maroudas on air ΕΡΤ News stated: “There is anger and indignation because it has been confirmed again: they want to destroy us, collect the earth in a few hands, and we must become modern farm laborers.”. He emphasized that farmers are already 40 days are standing at checkpoints and are ready to stand for as long as we are talking about about their survival.

Where traffic is already blocked

Athens – Lamia (Kastro area, Boeotia): farmer’s checkpoint in Κάστρο Βοιωτίας announced multi-day closures of the national highway and key points on bypass roads. Τροχαία (traffic police) reported traffic redirections. Flow from Lamia to the side Athens taken through the area Atalanti onto the old national road with access back to the highway in the area Ritson. Towards Lamia redirection starts from Ritsonwith movement through Thebes And Livadia.

Bralos: the blockade is expected to intensify, including at the expense of farmers from the blockade Karditsy on Ε65. Farmers call Bralos one of the most important nodes of the national network and state that the goal is also close all access and bypass roads.

Euboea: farmers block traffic on high bridge of Chalkisemphasizing that they “will not take a step back” on the demands associated with survival farms. Tractor columns are reinforced with equipment made from Kirinthos and other areas of the island.

Western Greece: farmers and livestock breeders Aetolia-Acarnania blocked a section of the highway Antirio – Ioannina in the area of ​​payment points Angelokastro; traffic is redirected through the local network. There are also reports of blockages on Ιόνια Οδός (Ionia odos) and individual junctions in the area Agrinio.

Peloponnese: V Achaye the large ring road is blocked Patras near the junction Eglicade; V Elijah area blocked Patras – Pyrgos with redirection to the old national road. There are also reports of road closures on P.E.O. Corinth – Argos in the area Dervenakia.

North: 48-hour closures and periodic blocking regimes have been announced at a number of points, including areas Ignatia Odos (Εγνατία Οδός) and several customs points (restrictions for freight transport, and for cars and buses – decisions “by the hour”).

Government response: “plan B” and the criminal line

From the outside Megaro Maximo new ones sound threats: authorities are preparing to use plan Brelying, inter alia, on the initiative of the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court to launch detention procedures in relation to the participants of the overlaps.

Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hadzidakis stated that the state intends to “close” the protracted conflict: “One way or another, we are moving to the phase of resolving this multi-day situation. I want to believe that it will be calm and consensual. This was and remains a government tactic. But if this does not happen, the law will be applied.”. He also emphasized that “The government will not remain a spectator”.

In parallel, government rhetoric is trying to divide the protesters into “hard” and “moderate”, although the farmers themselves emphasize that decisions are made collectivelyon general meetings. Against this background, the coming hours become key: farmers are expanding the blockade, and the state is preparing a military and legal response.

Editorial comment

Yes, the current confrontation noticeably more seriousthan the agrarian protests of previous years, as well as cause of conflict. And the point is not in the number of tractors or blocked kilometers, but in the fact how and where the conflict is moving.

Previously, the government always left room for maneuver: dialogue “on the fly,” adjusting measures, retreat without losing face. The package has now been announced finaland the farmers responded by immediately moving to 48 hour blockades. This is no longer a bargaining, but a clash of ultimatums.

The scale is also different: It is not individual areas that are blocked, but the entire transport geography of the country – from PATE and Tempi to Ionia Odos, Egnatia and customs. At the same time, the state is quicker than before in obtaining legal and security instruments – auto-foro (detentions), the Supreme Court, plan B.

But the main thing is economic background. For many farmers It’s no longer about benefits, it’s about survival. And when both sides realize that retreat would look like defeat, the confrontation becomes protracted and dangerous.

This is not the most noisy crisis, but one of the most serious. The cost of getting out of it is growing every day – for everyone.



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