Thousands return to Lisbon and Porto squares after police clear housing-protest camps, demanding withdrawal of bill easing evictions and ending rent caps

Thousands of protesters returned to central squares in Lisbon and Porto on Tuesday, hours after police cleared their camps and arrested 55 people. Demonstrators are calling on Portugal’s centre-right government to withdraw a bill that would facilitate evictions and end rent caps on new leases.

Portugal is facing one of Europe’s worst housing affordability crises: purchase prices have more than doubled since 2017, while rents for new leases have nearly doubled. The squeeze is most acute in major cities, which have also seen strong opposition to excessive tourism and an influx of remote-working digital nomads.