Author: Bob Cartwright
The fuel protests in many parts of Europe are now affecting border crossings from France to Spain in Catalonia. Thousands of Spanish lorry drivers have started an indefinite strike over the soaring price of diesel, so far up by 20% this year and still rising.
Truck drivers have disrupted traffic at one of the border crossings between Spain and France. Overnight, about 200 lorry drivers parked beside the toll booths near La Jonquera, close to the border with France. Reports say lorries have been stopped from crossing the border and car traffic has been disrupted too.
While the protests have been largely good natured, there have been reports of a number of lorries crossing the picket lines having their windscreens broken, lights ripped out and tyres slashed.
Lorry drivers have also staged "snail protests" on the ring roads around Madrid, and Barcelona with other protests in the Basque country and Valencia. Most of the hauliers involved are self-employed, or work for small and medium-sized haulage companies. There is a risk that supermarket and petrol supplies will be affected.
One of the leaders of the action, the head of the transport association federation Fenadismer, Julio Villascusa said on radio: "We are the ones who move the goods that this country needs to keep working. If we stop because we haven't got the money to buy fuel then the country will stop."