Thousands marched through central Madrid on Saturday after 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal was evicted from the flat where she had lived for 70 years, demanding stronger tenant protections and action to curb rising housing costs.
After police broke down her door on Wednesday, Abascal was carried from the flat on a stretcher; she is being treated in hospital for exhaustion. The tenants' union said a real estate firm acquired the property and raised the rent by 275% to €2,650.
The government is expected to approve a package at its next cabinet meeting that would automatically renew rental contracts and further restrict evictions. It is unclear whether parliament will pass the measures: Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's government lacks a majority, and a similar bill was defeated earlier this year.
