Lisbon's mayor says he is "alarmed" by the city's security

Another overnight shooting in Greater Lisbon, and the mayor is now saying publicly what residents have been feeling. It's Saturday, 29 August. Twenty-seven degrees. Air quality: 34 (Good). Here's what you need to know.

🗞️ LISBON'S MAYOR: "I AM ALARMED BY THE SECURITY SITUATION"

Lisbon mayor Carlos Moedas told a panel at the PSD Summer University in Castelo de Vide on Thursday that he is "alarmed by the security situation in the capital." It is the sharpest language he has used to date, and it comes after a stretch in which the city and its outskirts have seen a run of violent incidents that is difficult to dismiss.

On Sunday 24 August, four men were stabbed and four more were shot across four separate incidents in Sacavém, Loures, central Lisbon and Cova da Moura. In the early hours of Friday, two more men were shot and seriously wounded near the Miami Lounge bar in Amora, Seixal, in the wider Lisbon Metropolitan Area. Both were taken to Hospital Garcia de Orta with wounds to the arm and leg, and the Judicial Police (PJ) has taken over the investigation. No arrests have been made.

The mayor's frustration centres on a specific commitment. Three months ago, PM Luís Montenegro promised 200 additional PSP, the public security police, officers for Lisbon and 100 municipal police. None have arrived. Moedas, who is himself a member of PSD, the party that leads the national government, said on Thursday he has "no wish for a dispute with the government" but that the situation has moved beyond political patience. He has already met Interior Minister Luís Neves this week and convened a restricted Municipal Security Council with PSP and the Municipal Police.

Portugal Resident described a recent interview given by the PSP national police chief as "hugely inconclusive," offering no timeline for the promised reinforcements and no clear explanation for the delay. PSP's existing Lisbon deployment has not changed despite a summer marked by rising violent incidents and growing tourism volumes, with passenger numbers at Portuguese airports up 2.5% in the first half of 2026 to 35.3 million.

For readers living in Lisbon, it is worth being clear about where these incidents have happened. They have overwhelmingly occurred in peripheral neighbourhoods and late-night settings, not in the city centre during the day. The one recent exception was the stray-bullet shooting of a Swedish tourist on Rua Augusta in Baixa on 10 August, caught in a dispute between fake-hashish dealers. That incident prompted the Interior Ministry to announce increased policing in tourist areas, but a Baixa residents' association says it requested meetings with both Minister Neves and Mayor Moedas five months ago and has yet to receive a response. The gap between Lisbon's international reputation as one of Europe's safest capitals and the reality on parts of its periphery is what Moedas is now pointing at directly.

Bottom line: the mayor is publicly pressing his own party's government for reinforcements that were promised and have not materialised. Whether that pressure produces officers on the ground, or simply more interviews, is the open question.

⚡ QUICK HITS

Airport passenger numbers in Portugal continue to grow. The latest figures from INE, the national statistics institute, show 35.3 million passengers passed through Portuguese airports in the first half of 2026, up 2.5% on the same period last year. June saw a marginal dip of 0.1% in daily arrivals compared with June 2025, the first monthly decline of the year, but the cumulative trend remains upward. Lisbon handles just over half of all national traffic, and Porto posted the strongest growth among the three main airports at 7.6%. The numbers underline the pressure on border infrastructure that drove yesterday's story about the return to 24/7 biometric checks.

Mortgage lending in Portugal is running at record levels. Bank lending for house purchases has continued to climb, supported by the European Central Bank holding its deposit rate at 2.25% and by strong competition between Portuguese banks. Several are now offering spreads well below 1%. For anyone looking to buy, borrowing conditions remain relatively favourable, though how long that lasts depends on the ECB's next decision in September. The flip side is that cheaper credit feeds demand in a market that is already short of supply, which does little to cool prices.

E-scooter companies in Portugal say cars are the bigger safety problem. As the government finalises new rules for e-scooters and e-bikes, expected to cover speed limits, parking and insurance, the firms behind the rental fleets have pushed back, arguing that private cars account for the overwhelming majority of serious road injuries and deaths and that micro-mobility is being held to a stricter standard than motor vehicles. Road safety campaigners counter that scooters bring their own risks, particularly on pavements and for pedestrians. The new regulation is expected later this year.

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🍽️ SPOT OF THE DAY

LEAP TERRACE (PICOAS)

Leap Terrace sits on the fifth floor of the VIP Executive Picoas Hotel on Rua Filipe Folque, with an open terrace looking out over the city. It is a newer addition to Lisbon's rooftop scene and currently holds a 9.5 out of 10 on TheFork, which is high for a hotel restaurant. It is open to anyone, not just hotel guests.

The kitchen serves Portuguese cooking with a contemporary approach, with an all-day à la carte menu and a list of signature cocktails built for the after-work and end-of-day crowd. The space is bright and open during the day, thanks to the natural light, and turns more relaxed and social as the evening goes on. It works for a long lunch, an informal meeting, or a drink as the sun goes down.

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Worth knowing before you go is the terrace is on the fifth floor of the hotel, and the entrance is through the hotel lobby on Rua Filipe Folque, which is easy to miss if you are not looking for it. Late afternoon is the best time for the light and the quietest stretch of the day.

Insider tip: book through TheFork rather than walking in, both get a discount and because the terrace fills up for sunset.

📅 WHAT'S ON

See you tomorrow morning.

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