Tens of thousands of people marched across more than 50 Spanish cities on Saturday after parliament rejected two government decrees meant to ease the housing crisis.

The government said about 70,000 people joined the main demonstration in Madrid, while organisers put the figure at 500,000. Congress had voted down the measures on October 2, by 178 votes to 172 and 184 to 166. The proposals included a ban on evictions of vulnerable tenants until 2030.

The protests were triggered by the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal, who had lived in her Madrid flat for decades and was carried out on a stretcher. After a public backlash, the new owners agreed to let her return at a low rent.

Most demonstrations were peaceful, but in Valencia police used rubber bullets and tear gas after protesters entered the City of Arts and Sciences. The Tenants’ Union is now talking to labour unions about a general strike.

Rents in Spain have nearly doubled in a decade. Prime minister Pedro Sanchez’s minority government now faces one of its toughest tests.