Thessaloniki bracing for tough day as farmers head to city center

Thursday is expected to be a difficult day for Thessaloniki as some 300 farmers are expected to drive their tractors into the city center at the same time as students and educators are planning a rally against private universities.

The farmers, who will be coming from different parts of northern Greece, are expected to gather at the Agrotica agricultural fair, which is being held at the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) exhibition grounds. They also plan to stay until Sunday.

Although unions said that they do not intend to close the roads, the presence and movement of so many vehicles of this size alone is expected to aggravate traffic congestion, which has already increased due to work on the flyover.

The arrival of the tractors in the city center will coincide with the rally against education reform, scheduled for 12 noon, prompting the Traffic Police to make special arrangements so the situation does not become unbearable.

Farmers are protesting rising operation and production costs, while also demanding better compensation for crop losses due to natural disasters and disease, as well as the construction of infrastructure to protect agriculture from extreme weather conditions.