Europeupdated 1h ago2 min read
MapPolice Clear Puerta Del Sol Housing Protest Camp in Madrid, Remove 334 and Arrest Two
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Police dismantled a tent camp in Puerta del Sol, Madrid, after about five weeks. 334 people were removed from the camp.
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6 outlets told this the same way.
Outlets did split on Police Storm Housing Protest Camps In Lisbon And Porto, Arresting 13 →
Puerta del Sol cleared
Police dismantled a housing cost protest camp in central Madrid, clearing the Puerta del Sol square more than a month after it was set up to protest Spain’s housing crisis. Madrid city government sources said, "The eviction of the Puerta del Sol camp took place without incident or episodes of violence," and they reported 334 people were removed and two arrested. Protest organisers said on Telegram that the clearance was "a violent police operation" that left several people injured.
The camp had sprung up on 26 September after police evicted an 87-year-old pensioner, Maricarmen Abascal, from her lifelong Madrid home after a real estate company raised the rent by 275% to €2,650. City sources said the operation involved 220 national police officers and 180 officers from Madrid's municipal police, with the participation of firefighters and social services.
Telegram dispute and injuries
Protest organisers denounced the police action on Telegram as "a violent police operation" and said it left several people injured after being hit or as a result of tear gas. Flor, a 43-year-old homeless woman who said she had been at the camp from the start, told AFP that riot police "They dragged us out, they hit us." Madrid’s central government’s delegation in the Madrid region said the overnight eviction took place "without incident or episodes of violence," and it said 334 people were removed and two arrested.
The Kuwait Times also described officers closing off much of Puerta del Sol on Tuesday morning as municipal cleaners swept away remaining tents, tarpaulins and debris. The Madrid prefecture stated in a press release that the operations had taken place "without incidents or episodes of violence," reporting a total of 334 people evacuated and two arrests for "disobedience."
Housing crisis and elections
The eviction of Maricarmen Abascal, an 87-year-old Madrid retiree who was forced to leave the apartment where she had lived for 70 years, sparked nationwide protests against soaring housing costs and a lack of tenant protections. Euronews said the Housing Price Index of the National Statistics Institute (INE) recorded a 12.2% year-on-year increase in the second quarter of 2026, with second-hand homes up 12.9% and new housing up 7.4%. The Bank of Spain estimated Spain, with around 50 million people, was 700,000 homes short, based on the gap between demand and new construction.
The protest camp’s political impact fed into Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s decision to call early elections, with the Kuwait Times saying his minority coalition government failed to pass two housing decrees in parliament last month. The Kuwait Times reported that Sanchez brought forward a general election due in 2027 to Nov 29, after the camp had prompted protests for more than a month.