Portugal sees protests over cost of living and housing crisis as demonstrations sweep Europe

Key Points:

• Housing rights movements and trade unions affiliated with Portugal's CGTP federation are organizing protests across Porto, Coimbra, and Lisbon to demand higher wages, better pensions, and improved public services amid the rising cost of living.
• The demonstrations respond to soaring prices in housing, fuel, and basic goods, with organizers emphasizing the need for affordable housing and condemning government policies perceived as worsening the crisis.
• Protesters in Porto and Coimbra are conducting peaceful marches and assemblies, highlighting broad public support beyond political affiliations, while Lisbon's mayor urges that protests remain lawful despite supporting the cause.
• CGTP general secretary Tiago Oliveira criticized the "brutal increase" in living costs and the deterioration of public services, framing the protests as a fight against current government policies.
• These protests in Portugal are part of a wider wave of cost-of-living demonstrations across Europe, some of which, like in France, have escalated into violent clashes with police.