Police, who held a line at the very gate of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium on Thursday were pelted with potatoes by angry farmers worried a new free trade deal will see their livelihoods and industry destroyed.
A government-authorised protest for 50 tractors in Brussels turned into a demonstration with “around 1,000” tractors present and over 7,000 farmers on Thursday. While the protest largely passed off without incident, there were clashes at the European Parliament building, where farmers threw potatoes and eggs and received tear gas and water canon in return.
A large pile of old tractor tyres was lit as some farmers did battle at Place du Luxembourg, the grand 19th century square before the entrance to the European Parliament. Police lines ended up inside the courtyard of the Parliament itself, leaving some EU Parliament buildings — including the historic Station Europe structure — unprotected, where windows were smashed.
In one remarkable incident, a tractor was driven at a line of police, states Reuters, although it appears there were no injuries.
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – DECEMBER 18 : Copa-Cogeca : Farmers’ demonstration (EU farmers and agricultural cooperatives) to protest against reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and unacceptable trade agreements on December 18, 2025 in Brussels, Belgium, 18/12/2025 ( Photo by Didier Lebrun / Photonews via Getty Images)
Police officers evacuate the Place du Luxembourg near the European Parliament, during a farmers’ protest to denounce the reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and trade agreements such as the Mercosur, in Brussels, on December 18, 2025 (Photo by NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP via Getty Images)
The farmers are protesting the forthcoming EU-Mercosur agreement which will open the European trade bloc up to tariff-free trade with Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia. Farmers say their livelihoods will be wiped out by competition from considerably cheaper goods produced in huge quantities in countries where mandatory standards are much lower.
This is not without precedent. The opening up of the British economy to imports of South American beef enabled by the arrival of rapid steam ships and refrigeration technology caused a massive and long-lasting agricultural recession in 19th century Britain so pronounced it contributed to the depopulation of the countryside.
Belgian farmers accused the European Union of pushing through the deal against their interests and of acting like a dictatorship. Protests across Europe have been effective enough to potentially delay the Mercosur deal, which was due to be signed by Commission boss Ursula von der Leyen as soon as this weekend, with France — which has a powerful agricultural lobby — having asked for more time.
RTE reports France’s President Macron said he wanted to see more safeguards for farmers built into the deal before he’d agree to the deal. He said: “I want to tell our farmers, who have been making France’s position clear all along: we consider that we are not there yet, and the deal cannot be signed”. Germany, on the other hand, is keen to see the deal go through as it would open new export markets in South America for German-made machines and tools.
Inside the Parliament building during the protest the heads of states of European nations were meeting to discuss the proposed cash loan to Ukraine to sustain its war of self-defence, which has also emerged as a difficult decision for Belgium as much of the sanction-frozen Russian assets proposed to be used for Kyiv’s benefits are kept in a Brussels bank. Signing off on using Russian wealth to fight Russia has left the Belgian government concerned they would particularly be targeted by the Kremlin for revenge in future.
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – DECEMBER 18 : Copa-Cogeca : Farmers’ demonstration (EU farmers and agricultural cooperatives) to protest against reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and unacceptable trade agreements on December 18, 2025 in Brussels, Belgium, 18/12/2025 ( Photo by Philip Reynaers / Photonews via Getty Images)
A farmer sits in a chair next to potatoes near the European Parliament at the Place du Luxembourg, during a farmers’ protest to denounce the reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and trade agreements such as the Mercosur, in Brussels, on December 18, 2025 (Photo by NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP via Getty Images)
