Defying ban, tractors head to The Hague for farmers’ protest

By MIKE CORDER
Associated Press

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Farmers are driving tractors toward The Hague in defiance of a ban on the heavy vehicles imposed ahead of a protest against the Dutch government’s plan to reduce nitrate emissions. The municipality imposed an emergency order in the city Saturday on a day when thousands of farmers were set to gather in a park. Environmental activists from the Extinction Rebellion group also are planning a protest action on a major road. Authorities placed army trucks near some roads ready to prevent tractors driving into the city center. The demonstrations come days before Dutch voters go to the polls in provincial elections that indirectly also elect the national parliament’s upper house and could have an effect on proposals for reducing nitrate pollution.