Farmers continue to hold assemblies at roadblocks, determining their next steps while declaring their intention to intensify mobilizations. Traffic disruption on the Athens-bound lane at the main Malgara blockade is expected at any moment, while a three-hour closure at the Halkidona junction is scheduled for this afternoon. The mobilizations also include closing the Evzoni customs office.
In Larissa, the overpass in Nikaia will close again on Saturday but will temporarily reopen on New Year’s Eve to facilitate holidaymakers. On Monday, farmers plan temporary closures of bypass roads while calling on Thessaloniki residents to join the blockades on Sunday to show their support.
On Saturday afternoon, farmers and livestock breeders will meet in Trilofo Thessaloniki, Derveni, Kerdyllia, and Niselli to determine their next moves. Meanwhile, they are considering indefinitely closing the Exohi and Promahon customs offices on the Bulgarian border.
In Halkidona, farmers announce they will proceed to block the junction on the old Thessaloniki-Edessa National Highway after 3:00 PM for approximately two to three hours. On Saturday, they will hold meetings in Derveni and Prasina Fanaria, while at 12:00 they will temporarily close the Evzoni customs office without a scheduled duration for the blockade.
Finally, farmers call on Thessaloniki residents to stand by their side and come to the blockade on Sunday to exchange wishes and “gain strength from one another.”
Farmers harden their stance, protests will continue after New Year
As everything indicates, after the holiday period, farmers will harden their stance by closing even bypass roads and ports. With symbolic actions, Nikaia farmers escalate their mobilizations on Sunday and Monday, returning to the Christmas pattern from Tuesday to facilitate New Year’s holidaymakers. Rizos Maroudas, President of the United Federation of Agricultural Associations of Larissa, warned that “we will pressure the government in the coming days to provide solutions. If chronic problems are not solved, we will not back down.”
Farmers say they will sit at the “dialogue table” with the government when they receive substantial answers to their demands.
According to the Ministry of Rural Development, of the 27 farmer demands, 20 have either been satisfied or are under consideration, and there will be interventions for cheaper electricity and restoration of the special fuel consumption tax at the pump, among others. Farmers from all of Western Macedonia remain at the blockade and plan to escalate their mobilizations in the coming days.
Christmas at the blockades
Farmer blockades remain throughout the country, with thousands of tractors lined up on national highways, while producers prepare for critical decisions regarding escalating their mobilizations. As they emphasize, “they have not received concrete guarantees from the government” for satisfying their demands.
On the E65 highway, according to farmers, approximately 3,000 tractors are positioned without disrupting traffic. “Vehicle passage proceeds normally,” they emphasize, as one or two lanes have been given to traffic on all national highways, allowing smooth movement for Christmas holidaymakers.
Despite their presence on the roads, farmers spent the holidays at the blockades, setting up improvised Christmas celebrations. They lit fires and, together with their families, celebrated on the national highways, sending a message of determination.
With hot soup, traditional music and determination at Karditsa blockade – “We continue the struggle”
On the E65 highway, the scene is surreal and sends its own message: Thousands of tractors lined up, decorated with flags, stand as silent guardians beside a large, improvised tent that has been transformed into both “headquarters” and living room.
In the cold of the plain, the aroma from the hot beef soup boiling in the large cauldron breaks the chill. The producers, wearing their thick jackets, share food in plastic bowls, clink glasses of tsipouro to warm up, exchange wishes and discuss the next day.
Music plays loudly, with Nikos Xylouris and folk songs taking the place of honor. The farmers spent Christmas here, lighting fires and inviting their families to the asphalt, sending a message of unity.
“We wait for the government to get serious”
Behind the festive atmosphere, however, lies anxiety about the next day. Kostas Tzellas, president of the United Federation of Agricultural Associations of Karditsa Prefecture, speaking from the blockade, set the tone for the farming community’s intentions, calling on the government for substantial dialogue rather than tactics.
“We continue the struggle. We expect the government to abandon all these schemes and methods it uses to turn society against farmers, something it has not managed to achieve,” Mr. Tzellas characteristically stated to Orange Press Agency.
He emphasized that attempts to break up the blockades have fallen on deaf ears and appealed for calm and solutions: “We call on [the government] to rise to the occasion, to be calm, to provide solutions to the problems we have, so that we can go to a dialogue table to resolve them.”
Looking toward escalation
According to estimates, approximately 3,000 tractors are located on the E65. However, farmers have chosen to keep traffic lanes open, allowing smooth passage for holiday travelers, wanting to show that their struggle is not directed against citizens.
With 2026 approaching, Karditsa farmers remain on the battlements.
