THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) – Cars crashed into tyres and other garbage piled on a highway in the northern Netherlands yesterday, police said, as protests by radical farmers against government plans to rein in nitrogen emissions continued.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte branded the protests “unacceptable”.
Police in the northern province of Friesland said nobody was injured when several cars were involved in an accident caused by dumped garbage, but warned motorists to be alert to “extremely dangerous situations” caused by the farmers’ protest actions.
A handful of new protests took place overnight, including farmers burning hay bales near a major highway, despite police and security authorities appealing to farmers on Wednesday to halt the dumping.
“Protesting is a fundamental right and as long as it stays within the limits of the law, a lot is possible,” the emergency services said.
But they said the latest actions “seriously endanger road safety and can lead to life-threatening situations for road users”.
