FARMERS from around Greece headed towards Athens in tractor convoys yesterday to demand more financial concessions from the government as the cost of living increases.

Some 200 tractors formed the main convoy in central Greece heading southward, with thousands more set to join a mass rally in front of the Greek parliament.

With horns blaring, the convoy headed out from the central Greek town of Kastro, 75 miles north-west of Athens, with Greek flags, black flags and protest banners fastened to the tractors. 

Greek farmers’ unions have been in negotiations with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s right-wing government for weeks, but say the measures announced so far don’t go far enough to meet their concerns.

“We are coming to Athens right now to fight for a better tomorrow,” said farmer Konstantinos Katselis.

Prime Minister Mitsotakis, in a television interview late on Monday, said he could not support additional tax breaks and concessions.

He insisted: “We don't have any further concessions to offer.”

The government stepped back from an earlier threat to block the protest and police assisted with efforts to avoid disruptions to highway traffic.

Greek police warned on Monday that the farmers’ Athens rally would force the closure of much of the city to traffic and disrupt public transport.