Dutch farmers drive tractors to The Hague in mass protest

Dutch farmers protested against nitrogen policy rules on Wednesday (Photo: Hollandse Hoogte/Shutterstock)
Dutch farmers protested against nitrogen policy rules on Wednesday (Photo: Hollandse Hoogte/Shutterstock)

Thousands of angry Dutch farmers took to the roads again in a mass protest against increasing environmental regulations.

Tractors drove toward the Hague on Wednesday (16 October) in protest against new government rules looking to curb nitrogen emissions.

It comes as the country's twelve provinces recently adopted the rules.

But farmers say that they are bearing the brunt of the emergency measures.

Many had entered the Malieveld open space near the Dutch parliament, where thousands of tractors were parked.

One person told DutchNews.nl that the protest was 'spectacular'.

Another farmer from Friesland said: “The government, the politicians in The Hague, they don’t listen to us.”

“They don’t understand our lives.”

In the northern province of Groningen, police clashed with farmers who tried to enter the front entrance to the provincial assembly.

It follows a similar protest earlier this month in the Netherlands, which saw farmers take to the streets to counter the 'negative image' attached to their profession.

Elsewhere, French farmers blockaded major roads last week over fears that 'agri bashing' is increasingly becoming the norm.