Police fire tear gas as housing protests sweep Spain (VIDEOS)

Tens of thousands have taken to the streets after parliament rejected emergency measures aimed at protecting tenants Tens of thousands of people have demonstrated across Spain to demand affordable rents and stronger protections for tenants amid a deepening housing crisis.Average rents have almost doubled over the past decade, according to property website Idealista. On Friday, parliament narrowly rejected two emergency housing decrees proposed by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government.Around 70,000 people marched through the streets of Madrid on Saturday to denounce the decision, according to authorities, while organizers put the figure at half a million. Similar demonstrations took place across around 50 Spanish cities.In the eastern city of Valencia, demonstrators clashed with police, who fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowds. Around 30 protesters breached the security perimeter around the City of Arts and Sciences, a landmark cultural complex, before officers removed them.Protesters are demanding a 50% reduction in rents, open-ended rental contracts, and the expropriation of homes from investment firms they describe as “vulture funds.” Tenants’ Union spokes...