Police have dismantled a protest camp in central Madrid, more than a month after it was set up to protest Spain’s housing crisis, authorities and activists said on Tuesday.
“The eviction of the Puerta del Sol camp took place without incident or episodes of violence,” sources from Madrid’s city government said, reporting that 334 people were removed and two arrested.
In a post on Telegram, protest organisers described the operation as “violent”, alleging several people were injured after being hit by police or exposed to tear gas.
The camp was set up on September 26 after police evicted an 87-year-old pensioner from her lifelong Madrid home, following a sharp rent increase by the company that owned the apartment.
The incident triggered nationwide protests against soaring housing costs and a lack of tenant protections, with tens of thousands taking to the streets.
Protesters established a tent camp in the capital’s emblematic Puerta del Sol square, where hundreds of people lived in a sprawling encampment equipped with a canteen, clinic and meeting space.
Police moved to clear the camp overnight from Monday to Tuesday, city authorities said.
The operation involved 220 national police officers and 180 municipal police officers, alongside firefighters and social services, according to city sources, who said the evacuation was carried out without violent disruption to public order.
Early on Tuesday, much of the square was cordoned off by police, while removal operations were under way, AFP journalists reported from the scene.
