The recent decision to hold a demonstration outside Parliament on Friday has caused a rift among farmers, who have differing opinions on the strategy they must follow to satisfy their demands, in relation to the upcoming pension and tax reforms.

A number of prominent farmer blocks, such as Tempi and the Nationwide Coordinating Committee, have already clarified that they will not attend the protest in Athens. A representative from the Tempi road block, Triantafyllos Tsinoulis, told the Praktorio radio station that they will head to Athens, not to demonstrate, but rather to enter talks with the Prime Minister.

Meanwhile, the police is making preparations to prevent farmers from driving their tractors to the city center of Athens. A police official told Ta Nea that blockades will be set up on the national highways, while no tractors will be allowed to board any ferry boats from Crete to Piraeus.

Situation at Promachonas normalized

After many hours of negotiations, the farmers who have blocked the Promachonas customs office have decided to the border crossing to reopen, until the traffic decongests. On the Greek side of the border there is a 13-kilometer queue of trucks and vans, while on the Bulgarian side, authorities estimated the queue to be 30 kilometers long.