Authorities said 70,000 people were protesting. Organisers put the figure at 500,000.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a shame,\u201d Nando \u200cde Anguulo, 26, \u200cwho joined the protest in Madrid, told Reuters. \u201cIt only proves that it \u200cis us, the people, who have to adapt to the political parties, and not the politicians to what the people want, and this can\u2019t go on like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spain\u2019s prime minister, Pedro S\u00e1nchez, may call a snap election for November after the \u200clegislation failed to pass, Spanish media reported on Friday, and would be watching the strength of Saturday\u2019s \u200bprotests before making a decision.<\/p>\n
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Madrid. Photograph: Alejandro Martinez Velez\/Reuters<\/p>\n
The demonstrations have dominated the national conversation, breathing new life into S\u00e1nchez\u2019s beleaguered government<\/a> and shifting attention away from the lingering impact of recent events in Ceuta<\/a>.<\/p>\n Protests on Saturday were peaceful in 50 Spanish cities. In the south-eastern city of Valencia, demonstrators clashed with police who fired rubber bullets and teargas \u2060to break up the protests.<\/p>\n About 30 people managed to get inside \u200bthe City \u200bof Arts and Sciences, a \u200blandmark cultural building in the city, before they were \u200bousted by \u200cpolice.<\/p>\n One protester in Madrid, Marcos Sainz, a librarian, 26, said he used to rent a two-bedroom apartment with friends for a monthly rent of 900 euros ($1,000) but that a one-bedroom flat often now cost 1,000 euros \u2013 or half the median monthly salary in the capital.<\/p>\n He told AFP he would protest rental spikes \u201cuntil someone dares to regulate it all, as (otherwise) we\u2019ll all have to leave Madrid and that would be a shame as I am from Madrid\u201d.<\/p>\n Javier, 31, a solar panel installer, said: \u201cWe are demanding a fundamental right: decent housing, stability and conditions allowing us to construct a decent life project.\u201d He added: \u201cI spend half of my salary on a tiny room.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we are feeling in the streets is a new energy that we haven\u2019t seen in a long time, an energy that is showing that eight days of people power can achieve more than eight years of progressive government,\u201d Valeria Racu, one of the spokespeople of the Tenants\u2019 Union organising the protest, said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cNow begins real politics \u2013 politics which has always belonged to the people and which will return once and for all to the streets,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791073094_214_500.jpg\")
<\/p>\n