Angry farmers stage Germany-wide tractor blockades

BERLIN, Jan 08 (AFP): Furious farmers opposed to Berlin's plans to cut tax breaks for agriculture used tractors to block roads across Germany on Monday, kicking off a series of crippling strikes sinking the country deeper into a winter of discontent.
In Berlin, dozens of tractors and lorries stationed in the city centre blasted their horns to signal their anger at the start of a planned week of action.
Rail workers will likewise launch a three-day strike on Wednesday, with unions seeking a pay rise to compensate for months of painfully high inflation.
Workers in sectors across Germany, from metallurgy and transport to education, have turned to industrial action in recent weeks.
Wage negotiations have taken a bitter turn as Europe's biggest economy struggles with weak growth.
"We are exercising our basic right to inform society and the political class that Germany needs a competitive agricultural sector," German Farmers Association President Joachim Rukwied told Stern magazine.
"That's the only way to ensure the supply of high-quality, homegrown food."
Farmers began gathering on Sunday evening at the Brandenburg Gate landmark in the heart of the government quarter in Berlin.
The sector has been up in arms over government plans to withdraw certain tax breaks for agriculture this year.