Spain protests: Thousands of furious locals to take to streets as tourism row soars

Tens of thousands of people across 40 cities in Spain took to the streets in protest to demand a solution to the country's on Saturday (April 5). The protests in major cities and towns included Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga and Palma de Mallorca could mark Spain's biggest coordinated rally for housing rights in recent memory. Prices of non-new build homes rose by 11.2% this year, according to , with locals left struggling to buy or rent properties. They have pointed to the 3.8 million homes that lie empty across the country as evidence of and second home ownership worsening the problem.

Demonstrators called for a raft of measures including a drop in rental prices, an outlawing of eviction companies and a prohibition of evicting vulnerable families without alternative housing in place. Marches in Málaga commenced at 11.30am local time (10.30am BST), while in Madrid and Palma de Mallorca began at 12pm local time (11am BST). A rally was also scheduled for 6pm local time (5pm BST) in Barcelona and at 6.30pm (5.30pm BST) in Valencia, as well as dozens of other cities.

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