Farmers block highways across Greece in protest over rising costs and EU trade deal

KASTRO, Greece (AP) — Farmers in Greece escalated nationwide protests Thursday, launching a 48-hour blockade of major highways, junctions and toll stations over soaring production costs and a contentious European Union trade deal with South American nations.

Tractors lined key routes across the country, halting all traffic except emergency vehicles. Police directed traffic to secondary routes when possible and did not intervene to counter the blockades.

But the country’s conservative government has warned that it would not tolerate more extended blockades.

The country’s main highway connecting Athens to the northern city of Thessaloniki was shut in both directions at several points, as farmers demanded stronger state support and the rejection of the EU-Mercosur agreement.

“We’ve reached a breaking point,” Yiannis Baritas, a cabbage farmer and father of five, said at roadblock in southern Greece. “We’ll stay here as long as it takes to support our families. They’ve pushed us to desperation.”

The protests, which began in November, initially centered on rising production costs, worsened by a series of crises: a subsidy fraud scandal delaying legitimate payments, and a sheep and goat pox outbreak.

The government on Wednesday announced late concessions to try and head off the latest protests, including cheaper electricity rates for farmers and fuel tax rebates.

The proposed trade deal would create a vast free-trade zone between Europe and South American nations including Brazil and Argentina. European farmers fear it would flood the market with cheaper imports — triggering protests in other EU countries as well, including in France on Thursday.

“If this agreement goes through, Greek agriculture is finished,” Vangelis Roubis, a protest organizer, told The Associated Press outside the southern city of Halkida.

“Greece depends on agriculture and tourism. We don’t have heavy industry like Germany or France. Production costs here are 300% higher than in Latin America.”

Roubis pointed to potatoes as an example: Greek farmers need 35 to 40 cents per kilogram to break even, compared with roughly 10 cents in Brazil.

He added: “We want Greece to join the block of EU nations that rejects this deal.”

Kantouris reported from Malgara, Greece. Thanassis Stavrakis and Lefteris Piratakis in Kastro, Greece, contributed.

Tractors block a highway as farmers protest in Kastro, about 130 kilometers (81 miles) north of Athens, Greece, over delays in the payment of European Union-backed agricultural subsidies, on Thursday, Jan. 8 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Tractors block a highway as farmers protest in Kastro, about 130 kilometers (81 miles) north of Athens, Greece, over delays in the payment of European Union-backed agricultural subsidies, on Thursday, Jan. 8 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Farmers block the Chalkida Bridge with tractors during a protest over delays in European Union–backed agricultural subsidy payments, on Evia island, Greece, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

A tractor with a Greek flag blocks the Chalkida Bridge as farmers protest over delays in European Union–backed agricultural subsidy payments, on Evia island, Greece, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Farmers block the Chalkida Bridge with tractors during a protest over delays in European Union–backed agricultural subsidy payments, on Evia island, Greece, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

MARTIGNY, Switzerland (AP) — Switzerland will hold a memorial service Friday, part of a national day of mourning to honor the 40 people who were killed in an Alpine bar fire earlier this month during a New Year's celebration.

An additional 116 people were injured, many of them seriously, when the fire broke out less than two hours after midnight at the Le Constellation bar on Jan. 1.

Investigators have said they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fire in the resort town of Crans-Montana when they came too close to the ceiling. Authorities are looking into whether soundproofing material on the ceiling conformed with regulations and whether the candles were permitted for use in the bar. Fire safety inspections hadn’t been carried out since 2019.

The severity of burns made it difficult to identify some victims, requiring families to supply authorities with DNA samples. Police have said many of the victims were in their teens to mid-20s.

Swiss authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the bar managers. The two are suspected of involuntary homicide, involuntary bodily harm and involuntarily causing a fire, according to the Valais region’s chief prosecutor.

As part of the national day of mourning, church bells across Switzerland will ring for five minutes, beginning at 2 p.m. local time Friday, and a minute of silence will be held.

The Rome prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into the Crans-Montana fire, alleging manslaughter and arson, Italian media reported Thursday. An autopsy has been ordered for five of the six Italian victims and has been delegated to the prosecutors' offices in Milan, Bologna, and Genoa, where the bodies of the victims have been returned.

The Paris prosecutor’s office Monday announced that it was opening a probe to assist the Swiss investigation and make it easier for families of French victims to communicate with Swiss investigators. Nine French citizens were killed, the youngest of them aged 14, and 23 others were injured.

The owners of the "Le Constellation" bar in Crans-Montana, where the deadly fire happened on New Year's Day, Jacques und Jessica Moretti from France, center, arrive with their lawyers Patrick Michod, Yael Hayat and Nicola Meier, to be auditioned by the Valais public prosecutor's office in Sion, Switzerland, Friday, January 9, 2026. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

Plaques bearing flags representing Switzerland, Romania, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, France, and Turkey are placed along with flowers and candles to honor the victims of the fire at the "Le Constellation" bar and lounge, in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Cyril Zingaro/Keystone via AP)

Mourners gather around flowers and candles to commemorate the victims of the "Le Constellation" bar and lounge's fire, in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

FILE - A child watches as an adult places a candle outside the sealed off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner, File)