Portuguese police evacuated protest camps in Lisbon and Porto following demonstrations against rising housing costs

Portuguese police intervened on Sunday morning at protest camps in Lisbon and Porto, where demonstrators had pitched tents after Saturday’s marches against rising housing prices. Dozens of officers used dogs and batons to disperse the protesters and remove the tents.

Clashes broke out at around 4:30 a.m. in Rossio Square in Lisbon and Dom João I Square in Porto. Police announced the arrest of six people in Lisbon and seven in Porto for refusing to comply with dispersal orders. According to the authorities, 13 police officers were injured, and eight were taken to hospital.

Organizers, however, claim that the intervention caused dozens of casualties among the protesters: 38 injured in Porto, three of them seriously, and more than 30 in Lisbon. They accuse police of using excessive force and say they will not abandon the protests. The Acampada Lisboa group has called a new rally for Sunday evening.

The demonstrations target the plans of the center-right minority government to facilitate evictions and remove the rent cap for new contracts. A lawyer representing the protesters announced criminal complaints against the interior minister and the police chief, while Amnesty International denounced an “excessive and disproportionate” intervention.