UPDATE: Where farmers are blocking roads in Spain on Thursday February 8th

The farmers’ protests that gridlocked parts of France over recent weeks have begun spreading throughout Spain,  blocking access to cities such as Barcelona and to key infrastructure such as Málaga port.

Murcia, Extremadura, Navarra, La Rioja, Castilla y León, Valencia , Castilla-La Mancha, Aragón, Catalonia and Andalusia are the ten regions affected by the protests so far, with more set to follow in the coming days.

Organised by the Unión de Uniones regional farmers group mobilising on WhatsApp, farmers gathered on motorways and roads in yellow hi-vis jackets and waving Spanish flags.

As Europe’s main fruit and vegetable exporter, Spain is known as the “vegetable garden of Europe” but its farmers are facing significant difficulties including drought conditions affecting crop yields but also many grievance they feel can and should be addressed.

Like farmers around the rest of Europe, demonstrators are taking their tractors onto the streets to demand fair prices for their products, voice concerns about the green agenda and unfair competition (something French farmers accuse Spanish farmers of), asking for common agricultural policy rules to be relaxed, for food chain law to better respected, and for tax benefits on agricultural diesel to be maintained.

READ ALSO: Why is France waging war on Spanish tomatoes?

From dawn on Tuesday and Wednesday, road and motorway traffic has been slowed or brought to a standstill in many parts of Spain, with several major motorway exits blockaded and significant delays throughout the country.

Protesters demonstrated under the slogan “Without agriculture and livestock, your table is empty,” and this point was quickly proven after a single day of protesting caused significant supply problems in markets and ports dependent on same day delivery.

In Catalonia, farmers took their tractors to Barcelona on Wednesday with the aim of causing gridlock on the main access roads to the Catalan capital and in the city centre, before meeting in front of the headquarters of the regional government.

You can check the following map for a better idea of the scale and widespread nature of these roadblocks on Wednesday February 7th:

For live updates, this map by the DGT will also help. The icons showing people are where the protests are happening.

Throughout Wednesday February 7th, the main roadblocks have been recorded at:

• The AP-7, A-2, C-17 and C-16 highways around Barcelona, causing considerable traffic jams in the city centre as well
• The A-42 motorway from Madrid to Toledo, around Illescas in the direction of Toledo
• The A-7 in both directions around L’Alcudia in Valencia province
• The A-3 entrance in Los Corrales and Utiel (Valencia region) in direction to Madrid
• The Ronda Norte (CV-30) on the outskirts of Valencia city is also affected
• Numerous roads in Murcia city are being blocked by farmers protesting
• AP-4 motorway blockade around Las Cabezas in Seville
• The N-442 in Huelva is blocked in both directions
• San Andrés in Málaga, where access to the city port is being blocked
• Traffic jams on roads throughout Zaragoza province due to local protests
• The A-23 road in Teruel (Aragón)
• Numerous roadblocks are scheduled around the Navarre region
• The A-92N in Cúllar (Granada)
• The A4 motorway from Madrid to Andalusia, including blockades in Jerez (Cádiz) around the airport
• The AP-7 around Medinyà (Girona)
• Another day of protests have been called in Santamaría del Páramo (León) and at the port of Castellón
• The N-432, N-430 and N-523 roads around Badajoz (Extremadura) have all been blockaded

READ ALSO: How long will the farmers’ roadblocks in Spain last?

Tuesday February 6th roadblocks

In Valladolid, a farmer was arrested on Tuesday for assaulting a police officer during a road blockade at Mercaolid, a food market in the city.

Spain’s three biggest agricultural trade unions, UPA, Asaja, and Coag, didn’t take part in the strike action but will organise protests later this week, notably  Salamanca on Thursday and Bilbao on Friday.

Protests affected the outskirts of most major cities, including Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia. As Tuesday progressed, Spain’s Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT) logged incidents on Tuesday including traffic disruption or total blockages at strategic points along Spanish motorways on national roads including the A-1, A-2, A-4, A-5, A-6, A-92, A-42, A-66, A-50, A-62, and A-30, among others.

Tractor protests of varying size and severity were held on February 6th at the following locations and motorways:

Lleida (on the L-200, LP-3322, LV-2001, N-II and A2)
Barcelona (C-55 and N-340)
Tarragona (AP-2, N-240, AP-7 at exit 28)
Girona (reduced traffic in the city due to a protest outside the Generalitat)
Zaragoza (Z-30)
Huesca (N-330, N-240, A-131, A-132, A2)
Valladolid (A-62 and Mercaolid market)
Córdoba (traffic in the city, particularly El Arenal)
Valencia (CV-30, CV-30)
Asturias (A-8)
Navarra (AP-15, PA-34)
La Rioja (N-232 and main entrance roads to Logroño)
Vitoria (industrial estate at Jundiz, Vitoria-Gasteiz)
Madrid: (A-4, M-600 has been cut off in Sevilla La Nueva in the direction of the M-501 road)
Toledo (A-4 and CM-42, A-42, A-5, N-301 in the Puebla de Almoradiel, N-400 in Ontígola)
Zamora (A-6, N-525, N-630, A-62, N-122, A-11)
Murcia (Cadena port, A-30, and RM-15)
Ciudad Real (A-43, A-4)
Badajoz (A-66, N-523, N-430, N-432)
Jaén (A-4)
Huelva (N-431 from Escacena del Campo towards the city)
Cádiz (N-IV towards San Fernando-Cádiz and A-7)