Portugal cost-of-living protesters pour back into camps cleared by police
Summary
Thousands of people in Portugal returned to protest in central squares after police cleared their camps earlier that day. The protests focus on a housing crisis and government plans to allow easier evictions and end rent limits on new leases.Key Facts
- Protesters gathered in Lisbon’s Rossio Square and Porto’s Dom Joao I Square to demonstrate against housing issues.
- Police cleared protest camps, arresting 55 people who were later released before their court appearance.
- The government passed a first reading of a bill to make evictions easier and remove rent caps on new leases.
- Lisbon and Porto protesters say rising housing costs make it hard for people to afford homes and start families.
- Portugal faces one of Europe’s worst housing affordability crises, with property prices and new rents nearly doubling since 2017.
- Protests are part of a wider wave of cost-of-living demonstrations in several European countries including France, Belgium, Italy, and Spain.
- The protests began over ten days ago in Porto and since Saturday in Lisbon, with hundreds of tents set up at the protest sites.
- Some residents blame rapid tourism growth and remote workers moving in for increasing housing costs in major cities.
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