Clashes erupt in Spain as thousands join general strike over living costs | BBC News

Clashes have broken out between groups of masked men and police in Spanish cities, after hundreds of thousands of people took part in Spain's first general strike for 14 years, called by the country's main unions over housing and the high cost of living.

Some 120,000 people joined a demonstration in the capital Madrid and more than 50,000 turned out in Barcelona, where footage showed masked men setting fire to rubbish bins and smashing shop windows as police fired tear gas. Transport and other public services across Spain faced serious disruption.

Spaniards are due to vote in parliamentary elections on 29 November. The head of the big UGT labour union, Pepe Álvarez, said the strike was a success with "massive" participation, while Unai Sordo of the CC OO union said turnout was "very significant."

Earlier in the day there was major disruption in the capital, Madrid. The interior ministry said dozens of people were arrested a Spanish reports said estate agencies had seen attacks on their offices.

Rental prices in the capital have risen in recent years. The monthly cost of an average-sized apartment in Madrid is an nearly half the average gross salary.

Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called snap elections last month after parliament failed to approve his plan for housing reform, and has publicly supported the right to strike over the issue.

The conservative People's Party (PP), by contrast, has accused the government of attempting to weaponise the strike for electoral gain. Its leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo has described the unions as “mafia" and "trash".

Jane Hill presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Nick Beake.

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