Massive Crowd Fills Madrid’s Main Square Demanding Housing Protection For Evicted 87-Year-Old Woman

A massive crowd filled Madrid’s main square at night as protesters raised their hands and applauded during an ongoing demonstration demanding housing protections following the eviction of an 87-year-old woman.

The video was filmed by X user Gonza and shows hundreds of people gathered beneath the illuminated clock tower of the Real Casa de Correos. Many stand packed across the square while others sit near red-and-white barriers, with tents, colorful canopies and Palestinian flags visible behind the crowd.

A woman in an orange shirt speaks into a microphone from a low platform as protesters respond with raised hands and applause. Large speakers and stage equipment stand in the foreground.

The gathering is part of protests and an encampment organized by the Madrid Tenants Union after Maricarmen, 87, was evicted from the apartment where she had lived for more than 70 years.

Activists and supporters have been demanding emergency housing measures that would suspend evictions of vulnerable people without alternative accommodation, freeze rents, extend existing leases and regulate short-term and room rentals.

The Spanish government has been negotiating the proposed measures for possible approval by the Council of Ministers.

On September 28, an agreement was reached allowing Maricarmen to return to her home under a mediated rental contract capped at 30 percent of her income.