Police clear housing protest camps in Lisbon and Porto

Crime · First reported 1 Nov, 07:06 · Updated 10:28

Image: Wikimedia Commons · Rekia1991 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Portuguese police dismantled protest camps in Lisbon and Porto after demonstrations against proposed rental legislation. Reports differ on the number of arrests in the latest operation; the longer account also describes earlier arrests and injuries.

Police entered Lisbon’s Rossio Square at about 4:30am on Sunday and removed a camp of more than 50 tents; a smaller camp in Porto was also dismantled.
The protests opposed a rental bill that demonstrators say would make evictions easier and remove rent caps on new leases.
The reports give different arrest totals for the latest operation: one says 13 people were arrested, while the other does not provide a total for Sunday’s action.

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Key facts

Locations: Rossio Square in Lisbon and Dom Joao I square in Porto.
Lisbon operation time: About 4:30am (04:30 GMT) on Sunday.
Tents in Lisbon: More than 50 had been erected after Saturday’s march.
Arrests reported: 13 in total: six in Lisbon and seven in Porto, according to the brief report.
Housing shortage estimate: The Bank of Portugal estimates a nationwide shortage of 300,000 homes.
Housing cost changes: House prices have more than doubled since 2017, and rents on new leases have almost doubled.