Tractors driven to protest at Brandenburg Gate

Farmers with tractors take part in a protest rally organized by the German Farmers’ Association in Berlin on Monday (Fabian Sommer/dpa via AP)

German farmers have gathered in Berlin to protest against planned cuts to tax breaks for diesel used in agriculture – part of a deal reached by the government to plug a hole in the country’s budget.

Leaders of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition last week agreed on measures to fill a 17 billion-euro (£14.6 billion) hole in next year’s budget, saying they would achieve that by reducing climate-damaging subsidies and slightly reducing some ministries’ spending, among other measures.