Monday, 27 September 2026 – Weekly News Digest
Bon dia. Hundreds gathered in Plaza del Ayuntamiento this weekend in solidarity with Maricarmen, the elderly pensioner evicted from her Madrid home, as her case hardens into a national symbol of Spain’s housing crisis. The protests land as Valencia residents confront their own housing-cost pressures and the impact of mass tourism. Here are the issues Valencia is facing this week.
City & Politics
Solidarity protests over the eviction of Maricarmen, an elderly Madrid pensioner, reached Plaza del Ayuntamiento this weekend. The protests are nationwide with some camping out in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol and drawing support from figures including director Pedro Almodóvar. The case has become a flashpoint for anger at large investment funds buying up housing stock, and is putting pressure on PM Pedro Sánchez to act on affordability. Sanchez has promised to bring forward a new housing decree on Tuesday, expected to limit such evictions. The United Nations has since weighed in, saying the Madrid judge should have suspended the eviction of Maricarmen.
Sources: Las protestas por el desahucio de Maricarmen llegan a Valencia — Las Provincias; La ONU también se pronuncia sobre el desahucio de Maricarmen — El País Valencia; Sánchez promises Maricarmen to bring the housing decree to Congress on Tuesday — Demócrata
Valencia City Council is processing the first 14 applications to convert illegal tourist flats into permanent housing, part of a wider crackdown on unlicensed short-term rentals after a company was recently fined €30,000 for operating three unlicensed apartments. All part of Valencia’s attempts to curb tourism rentals in favor or long-term housing.
Source: València tramita las primeras 14 solicitudes para reconvertir bajos turísticos ilegales en viviendas — Valencia Plaza
Meanwhile, regional leader JuanFran Llorca unveiled a campaign platform built around cutting taxes, reversing the region’s falling PISA education scores and boosting the birth rate.
Source: Llorca presenta su programa: bajar impuestos, revertir el descenso en PISA y fomentar la natalidad — Las Provincias
City & Safety
Bicycle rentals shops are reporting a wave of punctures targeting tourists. The attacks tend to target groups of bikes at night in Ruzafa abd El Carmen with tumbtacks and nails to deflate the tire, sometimes sticking “tourist go home” on the bike
Source: El sabotaje a las bicis de alquiler golpea a los negocios de Valencia – Las Provincias
A basement fire forced the evacuation of Valencia’s historic Mercado Central last Thursday, sending smoke pouring from the building as firefighters went in. Despite some damage, shops reopened the following day.
Source: Un incendio obliga a desalojar el Mercado Central de Valencia — Las Provincias
Police arrested a man accused of raping a visiting American student in Parc Central. Separately, the Guardia Civil is investigating a viral video showing a group of young men chasing and beating a North African man during festival celebrations in Tavernes de la Valldigna, an incident being probed as a possible hate crime.
Sources: Detenido un hombre acusado de violar a una estudiante estadounidense en el Parc Central — Las Provincias; Un grupo de jóvenes persigue y apaliza a un magrebí en las fiestas de Tavernes de la Valldigna — El País Valencia
Inspectors have shut down the historic Teatro Principal after a technical audit found blocked emergency exits and unsafe fire escapes, describing the building as a “rat trap.” Some scheduled shows have been relocated to Les Arts and other venues while repairs are assessed.
Source: Estas son las graves deficiencias del teatro Principal — Las Provincias
Plus, new rules for cyclists and electric scooter riders take effect October 1: helmets and hi-visibility vests at night, and a minimum age of 15 to ride a scooter. Local police will patrol cycle lanes in the coming weeks to publicize the changes.
Source: Nuevos requisitos para ciclistas y patinetes en Valencia — Las Provincias
City & Environment
AEMET issued a yellow alert for rain moving in from the Mediterranean and intensifying inland on Monday into Tuesday, following days of late-summer heat. Separately, the agency warned that record-high sea temperatures this summer raise the risk of more violent DANA storms, even as it defended its decision not to issue a red alert for last week’s downpour under current thresholds. A new study meanwhile found that heavy urban development around the Barranco del Poyo has left the surrounding ground unable to absorb rainwater — a “raincoat effect” cited as a factor in the 2024 flooding.
Sources: Aviso amarillo por lluvias este lunes en la Comunitat Valenciana — Las Provincias; La Aemet, ante una posible dana por la elevada temperatura del mar — El País Valencia; El ‘efecto chubasquero’ del barranco del Poyo, causa de las inundaciones, según un estudio — Las Provincias
Valencia is shipping more than 20,000 tons of waste to other regions each year due to a lack of local processing capacity, prompting the City Council to push for new incinerators and a hazardous waste site. A separate incinerator project near Valencia aims to ease landfill collapse, while two new bio-waste plants in Vall d’Alba will convert agricultural waste into biogas and fertiliser.
Sources: A hazardous waste dump to prevent the shipment of more than 20,000 tons to other communities — Las Provincias; Una planta incineradora junto a Valencia combatirá el colapso de los vertederos — Las Provincias
City & Economy
Foreign investment in the Comunitat Valenciana has quintupled, led by the food industry — including the French group Le Duff’s acquisition of Panamar Bakery Group and a €200 million German investment in the PowerCo battery gigafactory in Sagunto. Meanwhile, cruise passenger numbers at the Port of Valencia fell nearly 25% over the summer, a drop industry insiders attribute to construction linked to the port’s expansion rather than a slowdown in demand; mega-cruises carrying more than 5,000 passengers are expected to resume within three to five years. As part of that expansion, the Port Authority confirmed plans for a new pedestrian route to give cruise passengers easier access into the city centre.
Sources: La inversión extranjera en la Comunitat se quintuplica con la industria alimentaria como líder — Valencia Plaza; El número de cruceristas del puerto de Valencia se desploma hasta agosto — Levante-EMV; La Autoridad Portuaria ejecutará un itinerario peatonal hasta la ciudad — Las Provincias
City & Culture
Valencia named its 2027 Fallera Court at a gala staged as a Roman temple inside Roig Arena, crowning 26 Fallera Mayors and 26 Fallera Mayor Infantils. Thirteen candidates now compete for the top title ahead of next year’s Fallas.
Elsewhere, Ruzafa’s Parc Central will transform into a medieval encampment for Valencia Day starting Saturdya, October 3, marking the anniversary of King Jaume I’s entry into the city and the founding of the Kingdom of Valencia. Historical re-enactments will be part of the celebrations leading up to Valencia Day on October 9.
Closing on an inspiring note, Las Provincias profiled a 93-year-old shopkeeper — a former caver and mountain climber — who still runs Valencia’s oldest retail shop.
Sources: Elegidas las 26 falleras mayores y falleras mayores infantiles de 2027 — Las Provincias; El Parque Central se convierte en un campamento medieval por el 9 d’Octubre — Las Provincias; Comerciante nonagenaria, espeleóloga y montañera, en el comercio más longevo de Valencia — Las Provincias
