Portugal Protests Over Cost-of-Living Crisis as Housing Costs Surge

Tens of thousands protested in Lisbon on Saturday against Portugal's rising living costs and housing crisis, intensifying pressure on the centre-right government. The demonstration, organized by the CGTP union, drew a massive crowd to the capital's main avenue. The protest follows recent unrest, including police clearing a housing activist tent camp in Porto. Portugal's inflation reached 3.6 percent in September, with fuel prices up 15 percent year-on-year, while house prices have more than doubled since 2017 and rents for new leases have nearly doubled. The Lisbon march is part of broader European discontent, with protests in France, Belgium, and Albania, where demonstrators demand Prime Minister Edi Rama's resignation. Portugal faces one of Europe's worst housing affordability crises.