Dutch budget day marred by farmer protests and rail sabotage probe
Dutch farmers protested the government's nitrogen policy by setting fires along highways on budget day, as a major rail outage prompted a sabotage investigation.
The Dutch government presented its annual budget to parliament on Tuesday, an occasion that traditionally draws large crowds to The Hague to watch the royal family travel through the city in horse-drawn carriages.
King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima and Crown Princess Amalia arrived by royal carriage and were met by the heads of the lower house and Senate before entering the parliament building.
Elsewhere in the country, protesting farmers set fires along highways, including in Breukelen, in a continuation of their campaign against the cabinet's nitrogen policy. Tractors displaying Dutch flags and banners — among them one reading "No Farmers No Food" — were seen on rural roads, and smoke rose from a field where firefighters worked to extinguish a smoldering pile of debris. Police officers were seen inspecting a tractor and detaining a farmer.
The protests coincided with a major outage that affected parts of the national railway system. The company responsible for maintaining the country's rail infrastructure said it was treating the cause as possible sabotage. Police have launched an investigation but have not commented on possible suspects or motives.