By Nur Asena Erturk
French farmers in the eastern city of Strasbourg protested against taxes on Monday, according to media reports.
Farmers blocked the roads from the towns of Schiltigheim and Vendenheim to Strasbourg, the daily L’Alsace said.
They protested against the project of heavy vehicle tax (R-Pass) that plans to take a fee from trucks weighing more than 3.5 tons that pass through roads A35 and A36, and two other roads that lead them to Germany.
The tax aims to reduce foreign truck traffic, pollution, and road damage in the eastern Alsace region, at the German border.
Farmers with around 40 tractors, spilled tires in front of the regional authority, the European Collectivity of Alsace (CEA) building.
They also spilled manure in front of the Services and Payments Agency building, an institution that handles agricultural aid payments.
Despite the demonstrations, the CEA adopted the taxes unanimously, which will not be implemented before 2027. The decision is to collect €0.15 ($0.16) per kilometer.