Europe
Madrid marches for pensions: 250,000 people from Atocha to Gran Vía, five weeks before the election
Protesters demanded guarantees for the state pension system, while Sánchez and Feijóo clash over inflation indexation ahead of the Nov. 29 vote.
By ANN Newsroom · Newsroom
October 24, 2026, 18:45 · Updated 18:39 · 1 min read
In brief
- About 250,000 people marched in Madrid under the slogan “Protect and guarantee our pensions.”
- Sánchez accuses the right of seeking to weaken inflation-linked pension increases.
- Feijóo promises that the PP will raise pensions every year in line with inflation if it wins.
About 250,000 people marched in Madrid on Saturday to demand protection of the state pension system, AFP reported, as cited by ATSH (the Albanian Telegraphic Agency). The procession set off from Atocha railway station and ended at Gran Vía, one of the Spanish capital's main shopping streets. Protesters carried banners reading “Protect and guarantee our pensions.”
The march took place five weeks before the Nov. 29 parliamentary election, in a campaign in which the financial sustainability of pensions and the rising cost of living have become central issues.
Sánchez vs. Feijóo
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez accused the right-wing opposition of aiming to weaken pension increases in line with inflation. He recalled that the People's Party (PP) voted against the 2022 law that introduced inflation indexation and is now questioning the mechanism. Earlier this month, PP lawmaker Muñoz had warned that the current system could collapse and called for it to be changed.
PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo sought to reassure pensioners, promising that if he wins the election and becomes prime minister, his party will raise pensions every year in line with inflation. According to the Social Security Ministry, about 6.8 million Spaniards receive a state pension, while the average monthly pension reached 1,576 euros in September.
The Madrid march took place on the same day as other protests against the cost of living in Europe: in France hundreds of thousands took to the streets for the second Saturday in a row, while in Turin, Italy, police used shields and batons to stop protesters opposing rearmament and high fuel prices.
