Portuguese police clear Lisbon housing protest camp, make arrests
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People protesting against Portugal's worsening housing crisis, amid growing concerns over rising rents, house prices and a shortage of affordable homes in Lisbon on Oct 24.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Portuguese police cleared a housing protest camp in Lisbon’s Rossio Square at about 2am on Oct 25, charging in with dogs and making arrests after warning protesters to leave.
- The protest targeted Portugal’s housing crisis, with prices more than doubling since 2017 and new rents nearly doubling. Young people said speculation and inequality were making them fear the future.
- Demonstrators want the government to drop a bill easing evictions and ending rent caps on new leases. The Bank of Portugal says the country lacks 300,000 homes, and similar protests have spread across Europe.
AI generated
LISBON – Portuguese police cleared a camp in central Lisbon held to protest against the country’s deepening housing crisis, charging at demonstrators in the early hours of Oct 25 and making 25 arrests.
Portugal is grappling with one of Europe's most acute home affordability crises, as prices have more than doubled since 2017, while rents for new leases have nearly doubled, with young people among the hardest hit.
The Portuguese protests echo recent demonstrations in Spain over home shortages and surging rents.
There have also been protests in other European cities, including Paris, where small student demonstrations over school conditions broadened into wider protests against the government’s economic policies.
In Portugal, dozens of officers, some with police dogs, moved in on the camp in Rossio Square shortly after 2am local time (10am Singapore time), having warned protesters their tents would be dismantled if they were not removed and threatening disobedience charges for those who resisted.
Protesters had pitched more than 100 tents after a protest march by thousands on Oct 24 along one of Lisbon’s main avenues.
"We have an obligation to fight for what we believe in," said Vitor Gomes, 21, a multimedia communications student, adding that housing speculation, wealth concentration and rising inequality made him pessimistic about the future.
The police said the operation was “proportionate” and that 25 people arrested for disobedience were later released and are due in court on Oct 26.
Protesters say soaring rents and higher living costs are squeezing households and turning housing into a growing source of discontent, with young people among those hardest hit.
PHOTO: REUTERS
A smaller camp of about 50 tents was also dismantled in Porto’s Praca D. Joao I, where the police made six arrests.
While police reported seven minor injuries among officers and protesters in the two operations, activist group Casa para Viver (Homes to Live) said 60 people were hurt and called for a fresh protest outside Parliament on Oct 27.
“Choosing the early hours of the morning to unleash dogs and baton-charge peaceful protesters is a political decision. It shows this government would rather repress those denouncing the housing crisis than address it,” the group said.
Protesters say soaring rents and higher living costs are squeezing households and turning housing into a growing source of discontent, with young people among those hardest hit.
The Bank of Portugal estimates a shortfall of 300,000 homes nationwide, equivalent to Lisbon's entire housing stock.
The protesters are demanding that the government scrap a bill to make evictions easier and end rent caps on new leases, which passed a first parliamentary reading, although the far-right Chega party abstained. REUTERS