Violence in Lisbon as police move in to clear housing protest camp - The Independent

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Officers with police dogs and shields moved in on a tent camp in Lisbon's Rossio Square at around 4:30 a.m. (0430 GMT) on Sunday, dispersing hundreds of protesters who had gathered to shield the tents.

The camp of more than 50 tents had been pitched after a march through central Lisbon on Saturday that drew thousands, staged in protest at a rental bill the minority centre-right government is pushing through parliament.

Before the clearance, police commander Iuri Rodrigues warned protesters three times that the illegally erected tents would be dismantled if not removed, and that those who resisted could face disobedience charges.

Once the operation began, officers used shields and some baton charges to break up the crowd protecting the camp.

A similar but smaller tent camp in Porto's Dom Joao I square was also dismantled by police.

The bill at the centre of the unrest would make evictions easier and end rent caps on new leases.

It passed a first parliamentary reading with the abstention of the far-right Chega party, and protesters are demanding the government scrap it.

Prime Minister Luis Montenegro on Thursday ruled out scrapping the bill but said he was open to amending it ahead of a final vote in coming weeks, saying parties "have to move closer" while making clear "the main line of action is the government's programme".

Socialist Party leader Jose Luis Carneiro urged the government on Saturday to engage in talks with opposition parties and protesters rather than "arrogantly imposing its views, sometimes even with authoritarian overtones".

Earlier, Socialist lawmaker Pedro Delgado Alves said 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."

Police have been criticized for baton-charging demonstrators and arresting dozens while clearing tent camps in the same squares a week ago.

Portugal is grappling with one of Europe's worst housing crises, with young people among those hardest hit.

House prices have more than doubled since 2017, and rents for new leases have nearly doubled.

Protests over soaring housing costs have intensified in Portugal in recent weeks, mirroring similar unrest sweeping across Spain, France, Germany and elsewhere in Europe.