Self-employed lorry drivers trying to get to Madrid to continue their protest are being intercepted by the police.
Members of the Plataforma para la Defensa del Transporte announced their intention to drive their lorries from some 42 provinces throughout Spain to Madrid where they intend to remain ‘for as long as it takes’. They are seeking a minimum road haulage tariff and a guarantee from the government that the price of diesel fuel will not rise any more.
The Interior Minister, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, immediately ordered the Guardia Civil and National Police to intercept the lorries before they reach the capital. As many as 25,000 police officers are involved in this action and have been ordered to act with ‘maximum firmness within the law’.