Demonstrators wounded as police break up Lisbon and Porto housing protest camps

Protesters chanted "smells like a dictatorship" overnight into Sunday as police hit demonstrators with batons in both the capital Lisbon and the city of Porto, in an operation to dismantle tents set up to protest against skyrocketing housing prices.

In a message posted on X, the police said officers had "intervened early this morning... to put an end to these illegal encampments".

"Once dialogue ended, the operation led to 31 arrests for disobedience," the police added.

A spokeswoman for the protest camp in Porto told the Portuguese news agency Lusa there were 37 minor injuries and two arrests.

"It is the third night in which we are being repressed with a method of total intimidation that one would never expect in a democratic country governed by the rule of law," said Catarina dos Santos, speaking to reporters.

The Public Security Police (PSP) had warned earlier in the afternoon that it would not allow tents to remain overnight in Rossio.

Protest camps in main public squares a point of friction for weeks

The presence of tents in Rossio Square and Praça D. João I (in Porto) have been the main points of friction with the police during the past weeks of protest. As night fell, the demonstrators decided by majority to put up tents and stay overnight.

Around 130 tents were erected in Rossio Square in Lisbon.

The operation to remove the tents began at around 1 am in both cities, after protesters started to notice what they called "disproportionate" police reinforcement, with canine units gathering in the squares in both locations.

"There were at least 20 crowd-control dogs, clearly agitated, and a number of weapons pointed at us, and if this is not intimidating and serious, I don't know what is," lamented Catarina Santos, quoted by Lusa.

Shortly before 2 am on Sunday, the police contingent had both squares cordoned off and began moving in against the demonstrators, who had formed a human chain. Police used batons, while firecrackers were heard causing considerable confusion. In Praça D. João I, bystanders criticised the PSP's conduct and began to sing "Grândola Vila Morena", a song associated with the revolution of 25 April that ended decades of dictatorship in 1974.

The "clean-up" operation in the squares was swift: the tents were removed immediately by the authorities and the protesters, who say they will return, dispersed to nearby squares.

Protesters demand changes in new tenancy law and a cap on rents

The Lisbon and Porto camp movements are calling for measures such as the reversal of the tenancy law, an end to evictions of people with no housing alternative, limits on the purchase of property by real-estate funds, the rehabilitation of vacant buildings and a ceiling on rents.

Large crowds had turned out the previous day for peaceful demonstrations, accusing the government of failing to act to tackle Portugal's housing crisis.