MADRID (AP) — Thousands of people took to the streets in Madrid on Saturday to protest against Spain's housing crisis and ask for protective measures for tenants, anti-fraud rules, and a ban on evictions without alternative housing.
The latest protest about housing was sparked by the dramatic eviction on Wednesday of an 87-year-old woman from the Madrid apartment she had lived in for decades.
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People gather during a protest following the eviction last Wednesday of 87-year-old Maricarmen to demand stronger laws to protect renters at Puerta del Sol in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
People gather during a protest following the eviction last Wednesday of 87-year-old Maricarmen to demand stronger laws to protect renters at Puerta del Sol in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
People gather during a protest following the eviction last Wednesday of 87-year-old Maricarmen to demand stronger laws to protect renters at Puerta del Sol in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
People gather during a protest following the eviction last Wednesday of 87-year-old Maricarmen to demand stronger laws to protect renters at Puerta del Sol in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
People gather during a protest following the eviction last Wednesday of 87-year-old Maricarmen to demand stronger laws to protect renters at Puerta del Sol in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Taken out of her home on a stretcher in the upscale Retiro neighborhood, María del Carmen Abascal was greeted by protesters and supporters as she was loaded into an ambulance.
Spanish media reported that Abascal’s father first rented the property in 1956 and she continued as the tenant after her parents died, during which time there was a rent cap.
The building changed ownership in 2018, and Abascal was offered the opportunity to buy the apartment but could not afford it, according to the Madrid Tenants’ Union, which organized Saturday's protest.
Urbagestión, an investment fund that later bought the unit, raised her monthly rent from 500 euros ($570) to 2,650 euros. It subsequently lowered the rent to 1,650 euros, which Abascal still could not afford on her pension, the union said.
Courts blocked three previous attempts to evict her. Extensive media coverage turned Abascal into a symbol of Spain’s housing crisis.
“I haven’t managed to defend my home, but I have fought so that others can learn to fight for what’s theirs,” Abascal said in a video shared on Friday by the tenants’ union. The video was recorded from her hospital bed after the eviction.
Rising costs and a housing shortage are pricing many Spaniards out of the market, despite strong economic growth in Europe’s fourth-largest economy. Incomes have not kept pace. Analysts say tourism and immigration-driven population growth in cities have placed further pressure on the limited housing supply.
The Bank of Spain estimated that the country had a shortage of about 550,000 homes last year, with Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia accounting for a substantial share.
Spain ranks near the bottom of countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development for public rental housing, which represents less than 2% of its available supply. The European Union average is 8%.
Spain previously built homes with public funds that were later sold into private ownership, removing them from the public housing stock.
Zampano reported from Rome.
People gather during a protest following the eviction last Wednesday of 87-year-old Maricarmen to demand stronger laws to protect renters at Puerta del Sol in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
People gather during a protest following the eviction last Wednesday of 87-year-old Maricarmen to demand stronger laws to protect renters at Puerta del Sol in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
People gather during a protest following the eviction last Wednesday of 87-year-old Maricarmen to demand stronger laws to protect renters at Puerta del Sol in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
People gather during a protest following the eviction last Wednesday of 87-year-old Maricarmen to demand stronger laws to protect renters at Puerta del Sol in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
People gather during a protest following the eviction last Wednesday of 87-year-old Maricarmen to demand stronger laws to protect renters at Puerta del Sol in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
PARIS (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of people packed Paris’ iconic Champs-Élysées avenue to attend an open-air Mass with Pope Leo XIV on Saturday, a sign of the Catholic Church’s enduring appeal in the once staunchly Catholic but officially secular country.
The Vatican estimated that 800,000 people attended — about 200,000 more than the number who had registered in advance. The turnout testified to the church’s lasting influence in France despite declining attendance and secularizing trends that have emptied churches across Europe.
The American pope greeted the flag-waving, cheering throngs from his popemobile during a 2-kilometer (1.2-mile) parade along the grand boulevard leading to the Place de la Concorde for Mass, essentially the heart of Paris and a symbol of the French republic.
In his homily, Leo asked the crowds not to keep their faith to themselves, but to instead “let it overflow, so that those you meet may be refreshed and their thirst satisfied.”
“From this beautiful city of Paris, I pray fervently that the living water of the Holy Spirit may flow throughout France,” he said.
Although a security blanket shut down central Paris to road traffic, the partylike atmosphere drew people of multiple faiths and no faith at all. The fervor spanned generations. People brought dozens of babies and young children from the crowd for Leo to caress on the head as he rode slowly past aboard the popemobile.
“The message of Pope Leo goes well beyond Catholic people; he speaks about social justice, for example,” said Leontine Joseph, 42, a fervent Catholic who came with two friends of Moroccan origin who grew up in Muslim culture.
Leo has sought to encourage French Catholics to persevere in their faith “even amid the thorns” of a secular world during his four-day visit. It began on Friday with his arrival and prayer at the restored Notre Dame, the first by a pope since the cathedral's devastating 2019 fire. It continued Saturday night when Leo arrived in Lourdes in southern France, one of the Catholic Church’s most-visited shrines.
At the Catholic Institute of Paris on Saturday morning, the pope said he was surprised by the number of new converts in recent years.
“We must recognize, welcome and protect the small flame that the Holy Spirit has kindled in the darkness of the night, the tiny seed that strives to grow even amid the thorns,” he said.
Adult baptisms in France each year have tripled since 2016, hitting 13,000 this year. But statistics and experts caution that the uptick, which has also been recorded in secular Spain, doesn’t counteract the overall downward trend.
In 1980, there were 513,000 baptisms in France; in 2024, a total of 186,000.
The rivers of people who crammed central Paris and their joyful enthusiasm rivaled other communal but non-religious moments of celebration that marked France in recent decades. Huge crowds celebrated on the Champs-Elysées when France won the soccer World Cup in 1998 and again in 2018.
Many on Saturday didn't identify as Catholics, but came to hear the pope's message.
“People are seeing a lot of really terrible images. This kind of event reminds people of what is really important in life,” said Thierry Chen, a 40-year-old Parisian startup entrepreneur who is not Catholic. “You see a lot of different people here, so it’s not just about one race, religion or nation, but about a common belief in humankind.”
Sylvane Le Goff, 68, who lives in the Paris region, came with her 10- and 12-year-old grandchildren to “give them unforgettable memories.” Le Goff, who was raised Catholic but is not practicing, said she wanted to open her grandchildren’s minds.
“It’s not only about seeing the pope but it also is about his message of peace and unity, values I’d like to share with them,” she said.
Leo has clearly been impressed by the numbers and enthusiasm, especially at a Friday night vigil that kept the 71-year-old pope out until nearly 11 p.m. after a packed first day.
Some 80,000 young people filled the national stadium for an extravaganza of fireworks and a theatrical retelling of French Catholic history.
“Thank you for your courage! Thank you for your presence,” Leo said to raucous cheers, speaking off the cuff in French. “Thank you for your faith. You are the saints of France!”
The imposing stage erected for the Mass, capped with a golden cross, and rows upon rows of choir singers, clergy and others who prayed under the pope’s gaze on Place de la Concorde marked a new chapter for the history-steeped square.
It was an execution site during the French Revolution. Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette were guillotined there. For many in France, it embodies the Republic and traditionally stages Bastille Day celebrations. In 2024, the Paris Olympics gave it a blast of modernity, using it for break dance, skateboard, BMX and 3X3 basketball events.
Organizers of the Mass said it was the only area in central Paris that could accommodate such crowds.
But the choice was criticized by supporters of France’s strict form of secularism in public life based on a 1905 law separating church and state. They argued that the site represents the Republic, and that other places such as the Invalides, a complex of buildings where Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass with 240,000 people in 2008, would have been more appropriate.
Leo’s Mass came as a birthday present for Jean-Claude Farnabe, who turned 63 on Saturday and spent the morning securing a spot.
A lifelong Catholic, Farnabe attends Mass in the Paris suburb of Suresnes every Sunday.
“There are more and more converts,” he said. “Many youngsters are interested in faith and in God. Every Sunday, I see new people, people aged between 25 and 40, who are getting baptized.”
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Pope Leo XIV arrives for a prayer at the Grotto of the Apparitions of Massabielle, in Lourdes, France, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)
Pope Leo XIV arrives for a prayer at the Grotto of the Apparitions of Massabielle, in Lourdes, France, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)
Pope Leo XIV greets faithful as he arrives to celebrate mass at Place de la Concorde, Paris, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Priests hold umbrellas as they distribute the Communion as Pope Leo XIV celebrates mass at Place de la Concorde, Paris, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Pope Leo XIV arrives to celebrate mass at Place de la Concorde, Paris, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Pope Leo XIV celebrates mass at Place de la Concorde, Paris, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Pope Leo XIV arrives to celebrate mass at Place de la Concorde, Paris, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Pope Leo XIV arrives to celebrate mass at Place de la Concorde, Paris, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Pope Leo XIV waves to the crowd on the Champs Elysees avenue before a mass at the Place de la Concorde in Paris, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
Pope Leo XIV, with the Arc de Triomphe in the background, waves from the popemobile as he arrives to celebrate Mass in Place de la Concorde in Paris, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
People wait for Pope Leo XIV on the Champs Elysees avenue before a mass at Place de la Concorde in Paris, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
Pope Leo XIV waves to the crowd on the Champs Elysees avenue before a mass at the Place de la Concorde in Paris, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
Pope Leo XIV waves to the crowd on the Champs Elysees avenue before a mass at the Place de la Concorde in Paris, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
Faithful cheer Pope Leo XIV at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis near Paris during a prayer vigil with young people, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
Pope Leo XIV arrives on the popemobile at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis near Paris to preside over Vespers with young people, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
Pope Leo XIV waves after a prayer vigil with young people at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis near Paris, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
Pope Leo XIV arrives at the Institut Catholique de Paris to meet with members of the provincial synodal assembly, catechumens and neophytes, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in Paris. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Pope Leo XIV is welcomed by Archbishop of Paris Laurent Ulrich, left, Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, second from right, and Institut Catholique de Paris Rector Emmanuel Petit as he arrives to meet with members of the provincial synodal assembly, catechumens and neophytes at the ICP in Paris, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
