Utrechtsebaan, The Hague, The Netherlands. Saturday 11th March, 2023. Extinction Rebellion organised a blockade on the A12 motorway in The Hague this afternoon, despite a ban from the municipality. The police intervened after the police 5 pm deadline. At around 5:10 the police began to break up the demonstration. The so-called ‘frog jet’ of the German built water canon was used to disperse the protesters during their sit-down; this had very little effect as most were prepared for such an event. According to Extinction Rebellion, more than 3,000 protesters were involved in the blockade. Prior to the protest, the police sprayed the relevant section of motorway with a hot salt solution to prevent the demonstration from gluing themselves to the tarmac and, to ensure the minimum damage to the road surface. Around 700 arrests were made and only three detained. The climate action group spoke of a symbolic protest location. “Because the road of the fossil age is a dead end”. ER demand the government stop subsidizing fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil. It was the sixth time the same group had occupied part of the A12. The previous highway blockade in January. Image: Activists with banners and placards from Extinction Rebellion staged a non-violent sit-down demo on the Utrechtsebaan, during today’s A12 protest blockade in The Hague. Charles M Vella/Alamy Stock Photo