Protesters Return to Lisbon and Porto Squares Hours After Police Clear Encampments

Thousands of protesters returned to Rossio Square in Lisbon and Dom João I Square in Porto hours after Portuguese police cleared the protest encampments in both cities early Tuesday morning, and arrested 55 people who were later released on condition they appear before a court in Lisbon on Wednesday.

Organizers said more than a thousand people gathered in each square. Protesters at Rossio had been camping since Saturday in approximately 200 tents, while Porto protesters had been encamped for about ten days.

Police launched coordinated operations in both cities before 6 a.m., after warning protesters that the encampments were illegal. In Porto, protesters complied with orders and dismantled their tents themselves. In Lisbon, however, Carla Valadão, spokesperson for the city's protesters, described the clearing operation as "highly aggressive," while Sérgio Soares, the superintendent of the general security police, maintained that the operation was conducted in a "calm, proportionate, and appropriate manner without any police excess."

Protesters are demanding that Portugal's center-right government withdraw a bill that would facilitate evictions and eliminate rent caps on new contracts, which has already passed its first parliamentary reading. Portugal is suffering from one of Europe's most severe housing affordability crises, with purchase prices having doubled since 2017 and new rental prices nearly doubling as well. The crisis is most acute in major cities, which are also experiencing opposition to overtourism and an influx of so-called "digital nomads."

Protester Débora Miranda, 41, a communications consultant, said she joined the Rossio Square protest to represent generations struggling against soaring prices. She added that "if people do not feel they belong to their country in every sense of the word," they will not be able to move forward with their lives, and that patience has run out. George Baichão, a 19-year-old history student, declared that what is happening is a "societal crisis," noting that his generation needs "the ability to live with dignity and establish families and breathe new life into Portugal."

These encampments are similar to housing protests in neighboring Spain and coincide with a wave of concern over rising living costs in countries including France, Belgium, and Italy.