Portugal cost-of-living protesters pour back into camps cleared by police

Police have arrested 55 people after protesters camp in Lisbon and Porto.

Dozens of tents are pictured during a protest against a housing shortage at Rossio Square in central Lisbon late on October 19, 2026 [AFP]

Thousands of protesters have returned to two central squares in Portugal for demonstrations against an intensifying housing crisis, hours after police cleared their camps in the capital, Lisbon, and the city of Porto, arresting 55 people.

Activists have demanded the centre-right government withdraw a bill that makes evictions easier and ends rent caps on new leases, which passed a first parliamentary reading.

list 1 of 3 Protests spread across France as ‘yellow vests’ set to join

list 2 of 3 Cost of living protests hit Belgium, Italy, Portugal and France

list 3 of 3 How has the cost of living changed in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal?

The demonstrators in Lisbon sought to rebuild their sit-in camp at Rossio Square on Tuesday, while those in Porto were returning to the northern city’s Dom Joao I Square.

Organisers said more than 1,000 people had gathered at each square. Activists have occupied Lisbon’s Rossio Square since Saturday, pitching around 200 tents, and Porto’s Dom Joao I Square for around 10 days.

A picture taken on October 19, 2026, shows a tent with a sign reading “Evicted by the State – Evicted by the climate – End to the evictions” at Rossio Square in central Lisbon [AFP]

Debora Miranda, 41, a communications consultant, told Reuters she joined the Rossio Square protest to represent generations struggling with soaring costs. “If people don’t feel at home, in every sense of the word, they can’t move forward with their lives…enough is enough.”

The camps mirrored housing protests in neighbouring Spain , and coincided with unrest over rising living costs in countries such as France , Belgium and Italy .

Shortly before 6am, after warning protesters that the camps were illegal, police launched coordinated operations in both cities. Demonstrators in Porto followed orders and dismantled their own tents. Officers cleared Lisbon’s Rossio Square in what Carla Valadao, a spokesperson for the camp, described as “very aggressive”.

Public Security Police superintendent Sergio Soares told reporters that the eviction had been “calm, proportionate and appropriate, with no police charge”.

The 55 detainees were later released pending a court appearance in Lisbon on Wednesday.

People gather to protest in Rossio Square against the housing crisis and cost of living in Lisbon, Portugal, on October 20, 2026 [Pedro Nunes/Reuters]

One of Europe’s worst housing crises

Portugal is grappling with one of Europe’s worst housing affordability crises as purchase prices have more than doubled since 2017 and rents for new leases have nearly doubled.

Jorge Paixao, 19, a history student, called it “a societal crisis”, saying his generation needed “the ability to live with dignity, start families and rejuvenate Portugal”.

The squeeze is most acute in the major cities, where there has also been opposition to excessive tourism and an influx of so-called digital nomads, people who travel while working remotely.

People at a protest camp at Rossio Square against the housing crisis and cost of living in Lisbon, Portugal, on October 19, 2026 [Pedro Nunes/Reuters]

抗议者在里斯本和波尔图扎营后，警方逮捕了 55 人。

2026年10月19日晚，在里斯本市中心的罗西奥广场，数十顶帐篷正在举行抗议住房短缺的示威活动。[法新社]

在警方清空了首都里斯本和波尔图的抗议营地并逮捕了 55 人数小时后，数千名抗议者重返葡萄牙的两个中心广场，举行示威活动，抗议日益严重的住房危机。

活动人士要求中右翼政府撤回一项法案，该法案使驱逐更容易，并取消了新租约的租金上限，该法案已在议会一读通过。

列表 1/3 抗议活动蔓延法国各地，“黄背心”运动即将加入

生活成本抗议活动波及比利时、意大利、葡萄牙和法国（共3条列表，此为第2条）

列表 3（共 3 项）法国、意大利、西班牙和葡萄牙的生活成本发生了哪些变化？

周二，里斯本的示威者试图在罗西奥广场重建他们的静坐营地，而波尔图的示威者则返回了北部城市的唐若昂一世广场。

组织者称，每个广场都聚集了超过1000人。自周六以来，活动人士占领了里斯本的罗西奥广场，搭起了约200顶帐篷；他们还占领了波尔图的若昂一世广场约10天。

2026 年 10 月 19 日拍摄的照片显示，里斯本市中心罗西奥广场上搭起了一个帐篷，帐篷上挂着一块牌子，上面写着“被国家驱逐——被气候驱逐——停止驱逐”。[法新社]

41岁的通讯顾问黛博拉·米兰达告诉路透社，她参加罗西奥广场的抗议活动是为了代表那些因生活成本飙升而苦苦挣扎的几代人。“如果人们在各个层面上都感觉不到家的温暖，他们就无法继续生活……够了！”

这些营地与邻国西班牙的住房抗议活动遥相呼应，也与法国、比利时和意大利等国因生活成本上涨而引发的动荡不谋而合。

清晨6点前不久，警方警告示威者营地非法后，在两座城市展开了协同行动。波尔图的示威者遵照命令自行拆除了帐篷。里斯本的罗西奥广场也被警方清空，营地发言人卡拉·瓦拉道称此次清空行动“非常激进”。

公共安全警察总监塞尔吉奥·苏亚雷斯告诉记者，驱逐行动“平静、适度且适当，警方没有提出任何指控”。

随后，55名被拘留者获释，等待周三在里斯本出庭。

2026年10月20日，人们聚集在葡萄牙里斯本的罗西奥广场，抗议住房危机和生活成本。[佩德罗·努内斯/路透社]

欧洲最严重的住房危机之一

葡萄牙正面临欧洲最严重的住房负担能力危机之一，自 2017 年以来，房价上涨了一倍多，新租约的租金也几乎翻了一番。

19 岁的历史系学生 Jorge Paixao 称之为“社会危机”，并表示他这一代人需要“有尊严地生活、组建家庭和重振葡萄牙的能力”。

各大城市面临的压力最为严峻，这些城市也存在着对过度旅游和所谓“数字游民”（即边旅行边远程工作的人）涌入的反对情绪。

2026年10月19日，在葡萄牙里斯本罗西奥广场举行的抗议活动中，人们聚集在一起，抗议住房危机和生活成本上涨。[佩德罗·努内斯/路透社]