The Police of Portugal carried out this Sunday new actions in Lisbon and Porto to dismantle the tent camps set up after the recent marches of thousands of people who are calling on the minority center-right Executive to withdraw the rent bill, which they accuse of favoring evictions and of eliminating limits on new leases.
During the early hours of Sunday, officers made up to three warnings to those gathered to take down the tents, pointing out that they could remain in the area as long as they did not continue with the protests, according to the Portuguese newspaper "Expresso".
The activists refused to leave the site and responded by organizing human chains, in which several people wore helmets and protective goggles in the face of the possibility of a police intervention.
Around 04.00 hours (local time), the Police made the final warning and began to prepare the operation with dog support. During the eviction operation, firecrackers were thrown and the officers proceeded to quickly remove the installed tents, striking some demonstrators with batons.
As a result, several arrests were made and, after about ten minutes of action, the squares where the camps in Lisbon and Porto were located were practically deserted. In the capital, those gathered were pushed toward adjacent squares, while in Porto the demonstrators ended up regrouping on a nearby avenue.
In both cities, the participants in the protest were confined to security areas, where the Police prevented them from returning to the original gathering points, while their belongings, scattered across the squares, were being collected.
In Lisbon, deputies from the Livre Party and the Left Bloc went to the gathering to support the demonstrators and underscore the defense of the right to protest.
The climate of tension continues to increase in Portugal while Parliament discusses the 2027 Budget, a debate that is expected to be strongly conditioned by the growing social unrest and by the disturbances and police charges recorded in recent days.