Police fined drivers who honked in support of the Rossio protest. Using the horn without good reason costs €60 to €300
On the evening of 1 November in Rossio square in Lisbon, where housing protesters had returned after the square was cleared overnight, PSP traffic police stopped cars whose drivers were honking in support. According to the organisers, officers stopped two cars and told the drivers they had broken the traffic rules and would have to pay a €60 fine (Notícias ao Minuto). Protesters gathered around the cars, tension rose, and at around 20:30 the riot police vans left the square, heading towards Restauradores. After that, drivers honked even more, and people in the square applauded them (Notícias ao Minuto).
Under Portugal's traffic code (Código da Estrada), you may sound your horn only to warn of immediate danger and, outside built-up areas, before overtaking and at bends and junctions with poor visibility. Honking for any other reason, including in support of a protest, carries a fine of €60 to €300 (article 22).
The US embassy advised Americans to stay away from Rossio in Lisbon and Praça D. João I in Porto: protest routes may change at the last minute, and protesters may also stray from the declared route (Notícias ao Minuto). That morning, while inspecting Rossio after the clearance, police found three bottles of flammable liquid, one intact and two broken. They had not been used and were handed over to PSP investigators (Observador). In the evening, two firecrackers went off near the Dona Maria II theatre, also in Rossio, and the organisers asked people to move away from the road.
In Porto, around 2,500 people in Praça D. João I voted by majority to spend another night in the square with tents and turned down a meeting with the mayor of Porto, Pedro Duarte, scheduled for Tuesday. By the protesters' count, the overnight clearance in Porto left 35 people with minor injuries and four seriously injured, and seven people were detained (Notícias ao Minuto). President António José Seguro, however, is willing to meet them: his office has told the protesters so, and they are still discussing their response (ECO).
