Dutch climate protest ends with 1,000 arrests

The Dutch police said Saturday that they arrested 1,000 people at a civil disobedience action by the environmental group Extinction Rebellion to protest the country’s fossil fuel subsidies.

The protesters had blocked around midday the A12 highway in the centre of The Hague, close to parliament and several key ministries.

Police moved in after about 45 minutes, announcing on X that they made about a thousand arrests for violating laws on public demonstrations.

Traffic soon resumed on the highway, and police later told Dutch media that no charges would be brought.

It was the ninth similar action in The Hague since July 2022.

The Dutch parliament at the time asked the government to come up with a plan to progressively eliminate subsidies to fossil fuel industries, estimated at 39.7 billion to 46.4 billion euros ($44 billion to $51 billion).

The plan was never presented, and the Netherlands has been without a working government ever since the party of far-right leader Geert Wilders won the most votes in last November’s elections but has been unable to form a coalition.