Where Do You Lay Your Towel? Struggle for Rights on the Coast Spreads to Portugal

Anyone who has been on holiday in the Mediterranean basin for years knows this view very well: You go to a small bay, while you are looking for two inches of sand to lay your towel on, a business employee comes and tells you that you should get out of there if you are not going to rent a sunbed. This habit of "closing the shores", which has become commonplace on the coasts of Italy and Greece, has for some time begun to threaten the vast, free beaches of Portugal.

The debate about the public's right to free access to the seaside is now the main agenda item not only at the other end of the Mediterranean, but also directly in Portugal.

What's Happening in Arrábida? Ownership of Coasts Debate

The owners of the Herdade da Comenda land, located within the borders of the natural wonder Arrábida Natural Park in the south of Lisbon, claimed that five different beaches in the region belonged to them. Their reason is that property rights predate the 19th-century royal decree that deemed the entire coastline public property.

This move naturally led to great reaction and protests from local people and environmental organizations. Although the government reiterates that the beaches belong to the public, the situation on the ground does not always work as it does on paper.

Free in the Law, Forbidden in the Field

Environment Agency and ministry officials clearly state that everyone can freely place their towels and umbrellas on the beach strip right in front of the concession areas allocated to businesses. However, in practice, businesses try to drive away citizens who do not rent sunbeds.

A similar situation occurred in Melides, a luxury resort on the Alentejo coast; It was revealed that people who wanted to go to the beach were asked for identification at the gates, and passages were arbitrarily blocked.

The following words of João Massano, President of the Portuguese Bar Association, summarizing the situation, clearly describe the contradiction in the field: "If you say that access belongs to the public and then close the roads leading there, how will people get there, by plane?"

Exorbitant parking fees, closed passageways and lack of supervision are slowly turning public beaches into the privilege of certain groups.

What's Happening in Europe? "Towel Revolt" and Mare Libero

This debate in Portugal is not alone on the continent:

Italy (Mare Libero Movement): In Italy, where almost half of the coastline, and 90 percent in some regions, is closed by private enterprises (lido), the "Free Sea" movement, which started in 2019, is growing. Activists who oppose the transfer of coasts from generation to generation without tender are trying to stop the beaches from being turned into shopping malls.

Greece (Beach Towel Movement): The "towel revolt", which started on the island of Paros in 2023 and spread throughout the country, resulted in the public directly occupying the beaches against the businesses that violated the legal limit of 50 percent usage rights and filled the entire beach with sun loungers.

Albania (Flamingo Revolution): Thousands of people have been defending their shores in the squares for weeks against the giant resort projects planned to be built on the protected lagoons and coasts.

The shores belong to all of us

Enjoying wide beaches, the sound of waves and the open sea is not a luxury or an exorbitant consumer item; a fundamental public right. In addition to lawmakers setting clear rules, field inspections need to be implemented without compromise and beaches need to be protected.

Source: Fernanda Câncio / Diário de Notícias

Photo: Mário Rui André / LPP