World

Lisbon Police Clear Tent Camp in Rossio Square After Housing Protest

By Al Jazeera Staff

Dozens of police officers, some with dogs, entered Rossio Square in Lisbon at about 4:30 am (04:30 GMT) on Sunday to clear a tent camp set up by housing protesters. The camp, which had more than 50 tents, was erected after a march the previous day in which thousands demanded the government withdraw a rental bill that protesters say would worsen the country’s housing crisis. Police commander Iuri Rodrigues issued three warnings that the tents were illegal and that resistance could lead to disobedience charges. Hundreds of demonstrators shielding the camp were dispersed, and police also dismantled a smaller encampment in Porto’s Dom João I square. Earlier, lawmaker Pedro Delgado Alves said Rossio Square had been peaceful and that no forceful police intervention was justified, citing last week’s baton charges. The operation followed similar actions the previous Sunday, when police arrested 25 people in Lisbon and six in Porto. The housing campaign group Casa para Viver reported 60 injuries across those operations, while police described the force used as “proportionate.” The protests are part of broader European anger over rising housing costs, with Portugal facing a severe affordability crisis. House prices have more than doubled since 2017, rents on new leases have almost doubled, and the Bank of Portugal estimates a nationwide shortage of 300,000 homes, roughly the size of Lisbon’s entire housing stock. Demonstrators want the minority centre‑right government to scrap legislation that would ease evictions and remove rent caps on new leases, arguing it would worsen affordability and expose tenants.