PORTUGAL: Security police use rubber bullets against protesters
On 11 December 2025, during a general strike called by major trade unions (CGTP-IN and UGT) in Lisbon against the government’s new Labour Package, the Portuguese Public Security Police (PSP – Intervention Corps) used kinetic energy munitions (rubber bullets) to disperse a crowd gathered near the parliament.
The formally-declared strike and march to parliament proceeded peacefully with an estimated 50,000 participants. After the official end, approximately 200 protesters remained near a police barrier in front of the parliament. Some members of the group (fewer than 50) engaged in isolated incidents of vandalism, such as setting fire to bins and throwing objects. However, the PSP’s response was disproportionate, with officers using kinetic energy ammunition (rubber bullets) to indiscriminately disperse people in the area, including protesters who had not participated in any violent acts. The ammunition hit at least five people in the head, and the use of force was not preceded by any effective audible warnings.
Portuguese law classifies rubber bullets as firearms and explicitly forbids their use for crowd dispersal except in situations of imminent threat to life, which was clearly not the case during the general strike. The incident represents a clear escalation in how social rights protests are being policed in Portugal.