Thousands march in Madrid to protest Spain's housing crisis

Thousands of people marched through Madrid on Saturday (Sep 26) to protest the eviction earlier this week of an 87-year-old woman from her lifelong home, calling for greater protection for tenants.



Images of Maricarmen Abascal being carried from her Madrid flat on a stretcher on Wednesday after police broke down her door have thrust Spain's housing crisis back into the spotlight ahead of a general election due in 2027.



Protesters rattled keys, blew whistles, chanted slogans and held banners calling for measures to curb rising housing costs and make evictions more difficult as they marched through central Madrid.



Government authorities put the turnout at around 25,000, while organisers of the protest said 300,000 participated.



Abascal, who has become a symbol of Spain's housing crisis, urged Spaniards to join the protest in a video message posted online just hours before it got underway.