PROTESTS AGAINST FREE-TRADE AGREEMENT WITH LATIN AMERICA CAP WEEKS OF DISCONTENT IN SOUTHERN EUROPE ~ from Contre-Attaque ~ Dramatic images emerged from Brussels yesterday (18 December) as thousands of farmers converged on the Belgian capital with their tractors starting at 2:00 AM, and lit fires in front of the European Parliament. They were protesting the Mercosur agreement, which was being discussed at the Council of the European Union, bringing together the heads of EU member states. Mercosur is a free trade agreement that will further pit European farmers against Latin American agribusiness, which operates without regard for regulations and relies on vast industrial farms that devour forests. Clashes outside Parliament continued for much of the day: potatoes and fireworks were thrown against tear gas and water cannons. Police charged the farmers, some of whom responded by driving their tractors towards the police lines. An EU building was targeted. At the end of the day, a forceful charge dispersed the protesters. https://cdn.freedomnews.org.uk/news/2025/12/signal-2025-12-18-211814.mp4 This anger is international: Greece has been paralysed since 30 November 30th by tens of thousands of farmers who are blocking roads, ports, and airports to demand the release of CAP subsidies. Serious clashes have occurred with the police. In France, protests continue against the policy of culling livestock, but more generally to express the despair of a sacrificed profession. Numerous blockades severely disrupted traffic in the Southwest yesterday. Some farmers have vowed to continue the movement, including through the holidays. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Video: Contre-Attaque montage from Brut, Luc Auffret, Le Monde, local press The post Brussels: European farmers clash with police appeared first on Freedom News.

PROTESTS REMAIN MILITANT, AS STUDENT AND UNION LEADERS FAIL TO GAIN CONTROL OF THE GRASSROOTS ~ Cristina Sykes ~ Protesters across Indonesia have launched another day of confrontational demonstrations, with the uprising that has gripped the country in recent days showing no signs of abating. Initially opposing both steep tax hikes and lavish wage- and expense increases for members of parliament, the protests took a militant turn after brutal footage showed paramilitary police running over a delivery driver during a demonstration on 28 August. The following day, rebellions exploded erupted spontaneously in the capital Jakarta and many other cities including Makassar, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Medan, and Pontianak. Demonstrators have targeted police posts, police stations, and the House of Representatives (DPR) office. By the weekend, protests also spread to the private homes of DPR members and political party offices. At least six more protesters have been killed since then, more than 700 arrested, and hundreds injured. However, footage has also emerged of police making hasty retreats away from advancing crowds and their projectiles. While the government has not resorted to all-out power outages, there have been phone signal disruptions at the demonstration sites and disruptions to internet access and digital information flows. “The demonstrations no longer emerged from the consolidation of formal student organisations and labour unions, but emerged organically from the people themselves”, said Indonesian anarchists in online correspondence. “Furthermore, support for violent actions increased, whereas in the past, we anarchists were always scapegoated and blamed by the public, the press, and the government”. Since 2019, Indonesia has experienced waves of uprisings that have ebbed and flowed. Anarchists have always been at the forefront of street battles as well as influential in organising resistance to evictions and land struggles, student and pupil movements, football supporters, and the underground music scene. Mainstream media reported that Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto has cancelled his trip to China, while political parties agreed to cut lawmakers’ benefits in a bid to calm the rebellion. “This is not just a protest—it’s a collective eruption of rage against rising housing taxes, endless corruption, and the military-police dogs of the state”, said another anarchist statement. “Usually some liberal union or opposition party controls the narratives but not this time. We give it up to the youngsters. We can only stimulate them to be more uncontrollable”. As the situation continues to escalate, anarchists are raising funds to establish a network of safe houses for protesters and frontline activists at risk. A page maintained by our friends at Organise Magazine collects the latest statements from protesters and additional background articles. The post Indonesia uprising: “A collective eruption of rage” appeared first on Freedom News.

THERE’S CAUSE FOR OPTIMISM IN A GREATER PUBLIC AWARENESS OF HOW MEDIA MANIPULATES REALITY – BUT SOCIAL MEDIA IS FAR MORE INSIDIOUS … Mike and Simon discuss the blatency of the Trump administration’s provocations in California and the ways in which its followers have justified their support of, often, actions which a few years ago they would have been dead against. The post Anarchist Review: LA crackdown, Aid flotilla hijacking and Train sabotage in Russia appeared first on Freedom News.

FRANCE DECLARES CURFEW AS SECOND OVERSEAS TERRITORY ERUPTS WITH PROTESTS OVER FAILING SERVICES AND HIGH COST OF LIVING ~ From Contre Attaque ~ A brand new gendarmerie barracks was completely burned down in Martinique on October 9, and yesterday the island’s airport that was invaded by protesters, preventing planes from landing. At the same time, increasingly violent riots are taking place at night, the police are being pushed back, and radars are being set on fire. For weeks, a revolt against the high cost of living has been shaking the French overseas territory in the Caribbean. Roadblocks, demonstrations, a McDonald’s fire, a Carrefour invasion… actions are multiplying. The French state has decreed a curfew without managing to stifle the anger. In the French overseas territory, public services are seriously failing, with regular water and electricity cuts. The population has been poisoned by chlordecone, a pesticide used by the banana industry. Vital foodstuffs are also unaffordable. Supermarkets sell food two to three times more expensive than in mainland France. It is a few large store owners, often from families of settlers and slave owners, who are getting rich. Earlier this year, a revolt took place in France’s the Pacific territory of New Caledonia, in which settler violence and the nickel industry played an important role. French CRS troops were sent as reinforcements to Martinique, a heavily colonial symbol: in 1959, three young schoolchildren were killed in Martinique by the CRS, and the elected officials obtained the departure of these forces. Now they have made their return to violently repress the demonstrations. This additional provocation has rekindled the revolt in recent days. The announcement of an additional 300 CRS planeloads pushed the movement to take over the airport tarmac. Through his authoritarianism and his colonial contempt, Macron will have succeeded in inflaming all the overseas territories. In Martinique, the movement is therefore gaining momentum, and so is the repression. The post Martinique revolt grows, airport invaded appeared first on Freedom News.