Tens of thousands protest across Spain after housing measures fail

Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Madrid and other Spanish cities on Saturday after parliament rejected government measures intended to address the country’s housing crisis.

The legislation, voted down on Friday, included a proposed ban on evictions until 2030, tighter regulation of short-term and room rentals, and a two-year extension of existing leases. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s minority coalition had approved the measures, but needed support from other parties for them to become law.

Authorities estimated that 70,000 people joined Saturday’s demonstrations, while organizers put attendance at 500,000. Protesters demanded stronger tenant protections, controls on rising housing costs and an end to evictions when alternative accommodation is unavailable. Demonstrations were held in about 50 cities. Most were peaceful, although protesters clashed with police in Valencia, where officers used rubber bullets and tear gas.

The protests followed the forcible eviction of María del Carmen “Maricarmen” Abascal, 87, from the Madrid apartment where she had lived for seven decades. Her rent rose sharply after the property changed ownership in 2018, and images of police removing the wheelchair user on a stretcher prompted widespread anger. Her lawyer later reached an agreement allowing her to return under an eight-year lease, with rent set at about 30% of her pension.

Smaller demonstrations ahead of Friday’s vote featured protesters banging pots, blowing whistles and rattling keys to press lawmakers to act.