Millions of workers strike across Spain as citizens protest soaring housing costs

Millions of Spanish workers shut down businesses and public transportation across the eurozone's fourth largest economy on Wednesday before thousands took to the streets of major cities in a nationwide protest over soaring rents and real estate prices.

Public transit, many businesses, universities and schools shut down for the day

The Associated Press

· Posted: Nov 11, 2026 4:20 PM EST | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

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Millions of Spanish workers shut down businesses and public transportation across the eurozone's fourth largest economy on Wednesday before thousands took to the streets of major cities in a nationwide protest over soaring rents and real estate prices.

Housing activists hope the massive show of force will lead to more regulations to protect tenants and crack down on real estate speculation, while Spain's left-wing government is seeking to mobilize voters ahead of a national election later this month with polls against it.

The walkout — under the slogan "Salaries. Housing. Prices." — was the first general strike in Spain in 14 years, and the first whose principal push was born from unrest over housing.

The strike culminated in workers and average citizens gathering in downtown Barcelona and Madrid, along with protests in other cities. Housing activists said 400,000 marchers filled Barcelona, while the city government said 55,000 turned out to walk behind a huge banner that read "Live. Not Just Survive."

Spanish government officials estimated 120,000 people turned out in Madrid despite pouring rain.

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Spaniards shut down country over high housing prices

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People across Spain have shut down businesses, factories and the country’s rail system as part of a general strike. The action comes as many in the country grapple with rising rents and home ownership costs.

After the peaceful march in Barcelona, some protesters started to smash storefronts of brand-name stores on Paseo de Gracia, a main shopping boulevard. They set off small bonfires in front of stores, burned dumpsters and launched fireworks at police who arrived in riot gear and armoured vans.

During the day, Barcelona's metro and public buses stopped running outside rush hour. Street traffic was light. Many smaller establishments like coffee shops, however, did open.

Carlos Ferrer, a 45-year-old customer service worker who was trying to get back home to Alicante by train from Barcelona, said that sometimes only "radical measures, such as a general strike" can force a change of course.

"Authorities need to feel pressure from the citizens so they can do something," he said.

Protestors marched under heavy rain during the nationwide general strike in Madrid. (Francisco Seco/The Associated Press)

Protesters defy rain and pepper spray

As the evening fell in Spain's capital, the wide Paseo del Prado boulevard became a sea of umbrellas as a huge crowd turned out during steady rain.

Almudena Lopez, 74, and her husband attended Wednesday's protest in Madrid thinking of their children.

"My son is 43 years old and still doesn't own a home as he cannot afford one," Lopez said. She said her son, who works in IT, has to rent a small room in a shared apartment.

"When I was young, if you had a university degree, you could get a job by saving a bit — which always required some sacrifice — but you could manage. It's nothing like it is today."

While the strike was organized by Spain's two traditional major unions, it featured the leadership of a grassroots housing activist group, mostly made up of younger people who have felt the housing pinch personally.

"This strike is against rent seekers, against real estate speculators, against the large companies that get rich by selling properties and, of course, against all the levels of government," housing activist Valeria Racu told reporters in Madrid.

"We are here to show that we have the capacity to mark our own agenda and we are going to keep doing so no matter who governs."

Some riots erupted following the marches, and when fires were set, it prompted police to fire tear gas. (Manu Fernandez/The Associated Press)

Debate over success or failure of strike

Unions also hailed the strike as a success, while Spain's business owners' groups argued that it had fallen flat.

"The strike has exceeded the labour unions' expectations," said Unai Sordo, secretary-general of CCOO, one of the two unions calling the strike for a nation of 22 million registered workers.

CCOO and UGT, the other major union organizing the strike, reported significant work stoppages in strategic sectors. They said that the stoppages amounted to 90 per cent in the automotive and port sectors, 85 per cent in the meat industry, 82 per cent in waste collection and 75 per cent in the energy sector. Many schools and universities closed.

The leading business owners group, CEOE, however, called the strike a "failure," saying that overall participation only reached five per cent.

• How did Spain's housing crisis get so bad it forced the PM to call a snap election?

• Spanish pensioner Maricarmen, symbol of country's housing crisis, dead at 87

Where unions and the CEOE agreed was that worker participation was higher in heavy industry and transportation, while it lagged in other sectors of the economy like retail and restaurants.

About five per cent of flights for Wednesday were cancelled at airports across Spain, according to the country's airport operator, AENA.

Minor incidents were reported in the first hours of the strike. Scuffles with police were reported by unions near the main wholesale market on Madrid's outskirts. Police also used pepper spray against protesters in some places.

Police said they had already made 49 arrests across Spain for incidents related to the strike.

Average rent has doubled in last decade

The average rent in Spain has almost doubled in the last decade, eating into household budgets and upsetting voters.

The anger reached a boiling point following the eviction of an 87-year-old woman from her home in Madrid last month. The subsequent death of Maricarmen, as the woman became known, solidified her as a symbol of Spaniards who can't dream of owning a home.

Housing activists used the uproar over Maricarmen's eviction to call for the strike, and soon won union backing.

A sign on the door of the home in Madrid where Maria del Carmen Abascal, 87, was evicted reads 'Rest in peace, Maricarmen,' on Oct. 8. (Manu Fernandez/The Associated Press)

The housing activists are seeking the automatic renewals of leases as a way to protect renters and other measures. Unions demand more public housing and a new minimum wage agreement.

On the back of recent protests over Maricarmen's plight, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called an early election, hoping to earn four more years in power for his left-wing coalition. The vote is set for Nov. 29.