Greek farmers are escalating their protests during Christmas week, announcing plans to disrupt commercial transport while seeking to avoid inconvenience for holiday travelers. On Monday morning, tractors from a major protest site in central Greece are expected to move toward a key highway tunnel linking northern and southern parts of the country, where they plan to block truck traffic for several hours.

According to farmer representatives, the action will begin around late morning and is intended to be symbolic. Trucks carrying goods will be stopped, while private cars and buses will be allowed to pass freely. Protest leaders say the goal is to pressure authorities without preventing people from traveling for the holidays.

To underscore their message, farmers at several protest points have distributed locally produced goods to passing motorists, many of whom expressed support for the demonstrations and encouraged them to continue.

The protests come as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis addressed the situation in a public message, calling on farmers to respect the wider public interest. He said the government remains open to dialogue but rejected what he described as unreasonable demands. According to the prime minister, a majority of farmers’ demands have already been met or are under positive consideration, while others face legal or fiscal constraints.

Farmer groups, however, accuse the government of failing to engage meaningfully. They argue that continued pressure is necessary and have outlined further escalation plans, including blocking service roads used by commercial vehicles and maintaining closures at border customs points. Additional demonstrations are also being considered outside government and ruling party offices in major cities.

Tensions have also risen following reports linking a prominent farm union representative to alleged irregular agricultural subsidies. The union leader strongly denied the claims, saying the accusations are an attempt to undermine the broader farmers’ movement. He vowed to take legal action and said any compensation awarded would be donated to farmers affected by recent livestock losses.

With protests set to continue through Christmas week, farmers say they are determined to keep their actions visible while balancing public support and economic pressure.