Police storm Portugal housing protest camps

Police have applied shields and batons to disperse housing protesters who stormed a tent camp in Portugal's capital, Lisbon, a week after similar operations drew criticism from protesters and rights groups.

Key points

• The Bank of Portugal estimates a nationwide shortage of 300, 000 homes, equivalent to Lisbon's entire housing stock.
• When police arrested 25 individuals in Lisbon and six in Porto, the intervention followed operations in the same squares the previous Sunday.
• The protests reflect growing anger over housing costs throughout Europe, including demonstrations in Spain and opposition to administration economic policies in France, Germany and Albania.
• While police additionally dismantled a smaller encampment in Porto's Dom Joao I square, hundreds of demonstrators shielding the camp were dispersed.
• Protesters had erected more than 50 tents after Saturday's march through Lisbon.

Dozens of officers, some accompanied by police dogs, moved into Rossio Square at regarding 4: 30am (04: 30 GMT) on Sunday, a day after thousands marched demanding the administration withdraw a rental bill they say would deepen the country's housing crisis.

Protesters had erected more than 50 tents after Saturday's march through Lisbon. Police commander Iuri Rodrigues issued three warnings to remove the tents, saying they had been erected illegally and that anyone resisting their removal could face disobedience charges.

Earlier, lawmaker Pedro Delgado Alves remarked Rossio Square was peaceful and that nothing justified "a police intervention involving force, physical violence or baton charges, the kind of scenes we witnessed last week".

When police arrested 25 individuals in Lisbon and six in Porto, the intervention followed operations in the same squares the previous Sunday. Housing campaign group Casa para Viver remarked 60 residents were injured throughout those operations. It police described as "proportionate".

In practice, the protests reflect growing anger over housing costs throughout Europe, including demonstrations in Spain and opposition to administration economic policies in France, Germany and Albania.

Portugal faces one of Europe's severest housing affordability crises, with young individuals among the hardest hit. While rents on new leases have almost doubled, house rates have more than doubled since 2017.

Notably, the Bank of Portugal estimates a nationwide shortage of 300, 000 homes, equivalent to Lisbon's entire housing stock.

Demonstrators want the minority centre-right administration to scrap legislation that would produce evictions easier and remove rent caps on new leases, saying it would worsen affordability and leave tenants more exposed.

Taken together, the developments around police storm Portugal housing protest camps point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.