Portuguese police clear housing protest camps in Lisbon and Porto, making arrests

As of 7:10 a.m. ET, Oct. 25, 2026

Portuguese police cleared a housing protest camp from central Lisbon early Sunday, charging demonstrators and making several arrests, with minor injuries reported, Reuters reported. Figures were not immediately available, according to Reuters.

Shortly after 2 a.m. local time, dozens of officers, some with police dogs, moved in on the camp in Rossio square after warning protesters to remove their tents or face their dismantling and threatening disobedience charges for those who resisted, Reuters' Sergio Goncalves and Miguel Pereira reported. Protesters had pitched more than 100 tents after a march by thousands on Saturday, according to Reuters.

In Lisbon, officers pushed protesters out of Rossio and dispersed them within ten minutes while municipal police collected the tents, Portuguese newspaper Público reported. In Porto, the few exits from Praça D. João I made dispersal harder, but the square was also cleared quickly, Público said, adding that there were injuries and several arrests.

Second clearance in a week

Police had dismantled a similar camp in Rossio on Tuesday, Reuters reported. In that earlier operation, police cleared camps in Lisbon and Porto and made 55 arrests, Reuters reported at the time.

Left Bloc lawmaker Fabian Figueiredo, who was at the camp, called the police action "completely disproportionate" before it began, saying there had been no public disorder, Reuters reported. Protesters are demanding the government scrap a bill to make evictions easier and end rent caps on new leases, according to Reuters.

What is not known

Arrest and injury figures from the Public Security Police for Sunday's operation had not been confirmed in the material reviewed for this report, and Portuguese outlets have reported differing counts.