# Spain’s housing strike turns violent as clashes erupt in Madrid and Barcelona

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/housing-crisis-protesters-loot-stores-and-set-bins-ablaze-as-they-clash-with-riot-police-in-spain/
- Published: 2026-11-11T22:10:28+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-11T22:19:31+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16285403/Housing-crisis-protesters-stores-bins-clash-riot-police-Barcelona.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: Europe, World

## Key points

- Evicted pensioner Maricarmen Abascal has died after being taken to hospital.
- Spain’s housing strike drew millions of workers and disrupted transport.
- Clashes followed mostly peaceful marches in Barcelona and Madrid.

## Summary

**New:** Maricarmen Abascal, the 87-year-old pensioner whose eviction became a focus of Spain’s housing protests, has died after being taken to hospital. Her case has intensified anger over a proposed 275 per cent rent rise and the wider difficulty of finding affordable housing.

Spain’s first general strike in 14 years saw millions of workers walk out, disrupting businesses and public transport under the slogan “Salaries. Housing. Prices.” Marches were mostly peaceful before clashes in Barcelona and Madrid, where protesters smashed shopfronts, set bins alight and launched fireworks, while police used pepper spray. Police had made 39 strike-related arrests before the later clashes; average rents have almost doubled in the past decade, and parliament rejected proposed housing reforms.

## Coverage

- [Daily Mail: Spain’s housing strike turns violent as clashes erupt in Madrid and Barcelona](https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16285403/Housing-crisis-protesters-stores-bins-clash-riot-police-Barcelona.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490)
- [Fox News: Fiery chaos erupts across Spain as protesters clash with police during massive nationwide strike](https://www.foxnews.com/world/fiery-chaos-erupts-spain-protesters-clash-police-massive-nationwide-strike)
- [DW: Spain: Housing crisis prompts general strike, mass nighttime protests](https://www.dw.com/en/spain-housing-crisis-prompts-general-strike-mass-nighttime-protests/a-79915208?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.