Greece: Flare-wielding farmers besiege Thessaloniki ministry over tax reforms

Hundreds of farmers from Greece's Central Macedonia region used tractors to block the streets outside the Ministry of Macedonia and Thrace in central Thessaloniki, Friday, in protest against the Greek government's tax reforms.
Tensions were high as demonstrators, many arriving on agricultural vehicles, let off flares and rattled the ministry's gates, finally locking them with heavy pad-locks.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' government was forced to taxes and cut spending to public welfare to deal with their creditor's demands that Greece reduce its deficit. The measures imposed by Greece's lenders have triggered widespread opposition to the Syriza government and continued austerity in recent months.