Police Intervene as Far-Right Groups Try to Reach Madrid Housing Protest

On October 4, 2026, far-right groups attempted to reach a housing protest camp in Madrid's Plaza del Sol, where protesters have been camped for a week.

Police formed lines to prevent access, and some far-right members performed Nazi salutes. Spanish police arrested three members of a far-right group and fired rubber bullets in Madrid on Saturday night. Earlier on Saturday, October 3, tens of thousands of activists marched in Madrid and about 50 other Spanish cities. The Spanish government estimated 70,000 protesters in Madrid, while the Spanish Tenants Union, which organized the demonstrations, claimed 500,000 participated.

These protests intensified after Spain's conservative-dominated parliament on Friday, October 2, rejected two decrees proposed by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's minority left-wing coalition government. The proposed measures aimed to address the housing crisis by stopping evictions of vulnerable people, making real estate speculation harder, imposing tighter restrictions on short-term leases, providing tax incentives for housing construction, and making leases automatically renew.

The demonstrations began late last month following the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from her Madrid home of 70 years after an international investment fund bought her building and hiked the rent. Her landlord later agreed to let her return at a lower rent. Protesters demand a 50% reduction in rent, open-ended rental contracts, and the expropriation of homes from investment firms.

Tenants' Union spokesperson Valeria Racu stated a general strike would be called after talks with labor unions. Nando de Anguulo, 26, a protester in Madrid, said, "It only proves that it is us, the people, who have to adapt to the political parties, and not the politicians to what the people want, and this can't go on like that."

In Valencia, demonstrators clashed with police who fired rubber bullets and tear gas, and about 30 protesters entered the City of Arts and Sciences before police removed them. Average rent has almost doubled over the past decade. Local media reports suggest Prime Minister Sanchez might call snap elections for November, watching the strength of Saturday's protests, though his office declined comment.