Farmers to decide future of protests Thursday

Protesting farmers will decide Thursday whether to continue their rallies.

The protesters who gathered at Athens' central Syntagma Square Tuesday will depart at 11 a.m. Wednesday and will return to their highway blockades across Greece.

Police estimate at least 8,000 farmers with 130 tractors joined the protest, which echoes grievances in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and Italy, where farmers have staged similar demonstrations.

In addition to dealing with high energy and production costs, Greek farmers say they have been hurt by climate change-driven weather, where unpredictable flooding, as well as extreme heat and wildfires are making crop growing ever more hazardous.

Thessaly farmers said Tuesday they will meet with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis next week to discuss recovery projects in their region, which was badly hit by floods in...