The Federal Police warns of disruptions in Brussels as well as the rest of the country as hundreds of farmers in tractors are making their way to the Belgian capital for the major demonstration today.
Most Belgian farmer associations are not joining today's protest, but international and domestic farmers – often by tractor – are travelling to the Heysel site in Laeken from early in the morning, traffic on several roads towards Brussels as well as in the Capital Region itself will likely be heavily disrupted.
"Several hundred or even thousands of farmers are expected to descend on Brussels by tractor, including from abroad," the Federal Police said in a press release on Monday afternoon.
The farmers' action group, Farmers Defence Force (FDF), said on Tuesday morning that around "1,000 tractors" are involved from Flanders alone. The FDF's Dutch branch estimates that "thousands of Dutch farmers" will descend on Brussels from the border as well, with about 500 tractors.
Procession of 8 km
At around 08:00 this morning, some 200 tractors from the Netherlands crossed the border on their way to the Belgian capital, Dutch news agency ANP reports. The procession of Dutch tractors is currently 8.5 kilometres long. They departed with some 25 tractors from a collection point in Schaijk in Brabant at around 01:30 last night, with tractors joining along the route throughout the night.
On the vehicles are upside-down Dutch flags, flags of the Farmers Defence Force and protest signs with slogans such as "farmers take care of your food." Farmers from Germany and Belgium have also joined in.
In Belgium, police closed off intersections and blocked busy roads so the procession could continue without too much traffic disruption. The farmers will drive to the Heysel site in Brussels, where the demonstration will start at noon.
They are mainly passing through the provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Flemish Brabant and East Flanders, but journeys from elsewhere in the country are also possible. The various police forces will channel the tractors in the interest of road safety for all road users as much as possible.
Farmers' demonstration on Thursday 1 February 2024. Credit: Belga / Wim Demeulenaere
"Tractors are strictly prohibited from entering motorways," the police stressed. "Disruptions are to be expected mainly on the various regional roads towards Brussels during the morning rush hour, and in the opposite direction during the evening rush hour."
The police urge people driving to Brussels on Tuesday to closely follow traffic information and take "unexpected delayed traffic" into account.
Several travel routes from the border with the Netherlands have been determined in consultation with the police and can be viewed here. Police will divert tractors to these routes as much as possible. "However, other roads will also be used."
Within Brussels, the traffic problems will mostly be concentrated around the Heysel plateau, but the area around Rue de la Loi in the European Quarter may also experience traffic disruptions, especially during rush hour.
The police will provide live updates of the situation on its social media channels.
