The protests are a response to government plans to eliminate diesel tax benefits for agriculture, spurring a week of action. Farmers, alongside transport companies opposing higher truck tolls, have mobilized tractors to obstruct traffic.

Notably, farmers have aligned tractors near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, symbolizing their message: "No farmer, no future."

Regions such as Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Lower Saxony's Cloppenburg district have seen blockades, with Saxony also reporting inaccessible highways.

December saw similar protests in response to Chancellor Scholz's initiative to remove tax exemptions for farm vehicles and diesel, aiming to cover a €17 billion budget shortfall for 2024.

Though the government has offered a compromise, partially maintaining car tax exemptions and phasing diesel tax reduction over three years, the German Farmers' Association demands a full reversal and is pushing ahead with protests.

Tensions escalated when farmers impeded Vice Chancellor Habeck's return from a trip, drawing widespread criticism. With concerns about extremist groups exploiting the protests, authorities remain vigilant, as the farmers' association emphasizes its disassociation from radical elements.

The budget changes, including the contentious tax cuts, followed the constitutional court's annulment of a €60 billion reallocation from COVID-19 relief to climate and modernization projects, breaching Germany's stringent debt limits.