PM Montenegro just promised 400 new police for Lisbon. The union says the maths doesn't work.

Good morning, Lisbon. It's Friday, 15 May. Twenty-two degrees, sunny. Arde Bogotá plays Campo Pequeno tonight. Monsanto Open Air is in the forest. And if you haven't noticed, the jacarandas on Avenida Dom Carlos I are now fully purple.

🌬️ AIR QUALITY: 22 (Good).

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PM MONTENEGRO JUST PROMISED 400 NEW POLICE FOR LISBON AND PORTO. THE UNION SAYS THE MATHS DOESN'T WORK.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Montenegro announced 200 new PSP officers for Lisbon and 200 for Porto after what he described as an "extremely productive meeting" with both mayors. He also announced that 500 existing officers would be freed from desk duties for street patrols, and a reorganisation of PSP stations in Lisbon, Porto, and Setúbal.

The trigger was visible on every evening news bulletin. A daylight jewellery store robbery in Almada earlier this week: two masked men with a sawn-off shotgun burst into the shop, smashed display cases, and fled with over €50,000 in goods. The owner was hospitalised from injuries caused by flying glass. The footage was the kind that makes crime feel close even when the statistics say it's falling.

The police union (ASPP/PSP) responded within hours, calling the plan "totally inconsistent" and "unfeasible." The numbers tell the story. 900 PSP officers are due to retire this year. The current training course at Torres Novas graduates 570 cadets on May 28. Not all will be accepted. A second course has 683 enrolled, with numbers expected to drop. The union called it "an unprecedented operational loss" and accused the government of prioritising "media exposure over solid solutions."

Interior Minister Luís Neves countered that 2026 will be the first year in over a decade with two simultaneous training courses, producing more than 1,400 graduates by year-end. Entry-level PSP pay has risen 43% since 2023, now reaching €1,704 per month. Risk supplements have quadrupled from €100 to €400. He also announced plans to strip administrative duties from patrol officers and replace them with civilian staff. "Police officers are meant to be on the street fulfilling their mission," he said. "Administrative tasks can be performed by others."

Lisbon and Porto residents should expect uneven police presence during the May and June transition period as the first 570 graduates deploy and the 900 retirees leave. Tourist-heavy areas in Baixa and the riverside districts are typically prioritised for continuity. The administrative reorganisation of the Lisbon metropolitan command is already underway.

The broader picture: one-third of PSP's 20,687-strong workforce is aged 50-59. In five years, 34% will meet the requirements for pre-retirement. The force is ageing faster than it can replace itself, and the recruitment pipeline, while improving, has consistently fallen short of targets for over a decade.

Bottom line: 400 new officers is a headline. 900 retirements is a fact. The maths depends on whether both training courses deliver full cohorts by December, and whether the administrative reorganisation frees the 500 desk officers the PM promised. If you live in Lisbon, the policing you experience over the next six months will be determined by which of those numbers proves more real.

⚡ QUICK HITS

The EU just clarified: if fuel runs short this summer, airlines don't have to compensate you. The European Commission confirmed this week that genuine fuel scarcity exempts airlines from the standard €250-600 compensation payouts for cancellations under EU261. Passengers still get refunds and duty of care (meals, hotels, rebooking), but the compensation element disappears if the airline can prove the cancellation was an "extraordinary circumstance." With Goldman Sachs forecasting Europe's jet fuel dropping below the critical 23-day threshold in June, this is not theoretical. If you are booking summer flights, buy flexible tickets.

Portugal didn't qualify for Eurovision. Bandidos do Cante were eliminated in the first semi-final in Vienna. The RTP staff boycott letter we covered last week didn't prevent the entry, but the result will add to the debate about Portugal's relationship with the contest. Salvador Sobral's 2017 win feels a long time ago.

Lisbon airport ground handlers just secured a 4-year wage deal. Menzies Aviation workers at Lisbon and Porto airports agreed to 5% annual raises, back-pay, and inflation indexing. The deal avoids the strike action that had been threatening summer operations. If you're flying this summer, that's one less disruption to worry about.

🍽️ SPOT OF THE DAY

CERVEJARIA RAMIRO (INTENDENTE)

Friday night. You want seafood. Not the kind with a tasting menu and a wine pairing, but the kind where you eat with your hands, the beer is cold, the napkins are paper, and the bill is higher than you expected because you kept ordering. Cervejaria Ramiro has been that place since 1956, and nothing about it needs to change.

Ramiro sits on Avenida Almirante Reis at the edge of Intendente, in a neighbourhood that most Lisbon guidebooks used to skip and now can't stop writing about. The restaurant started as a cervejaria (a beer hall) and began serving shellfish because the founder noticed his customers wanted something to eat with their drink. The shellfish turned out to be better than it had any right to be. Nearly seventy years later, this is the most famous seafood restaurant in the city, and possibly the country.

The menu is priced by weight, which is how you end up spending more than you planned. The tiger prawns, grilled and served with nothing but lemon, are the dish most people start with. The percebes (goose barnacles) are for the adventurous and are worth every strange-looking bite. The amêijoas à Bulhão Pato (clams in garlic, coriander, and white wine) are the dish you will remember longest. The scarlet prawns, if they have them, are the sweetest thing that comes out of the Atlantic. The crab, the lobster, the crayfish: all excellent, all fresh, all brought to the table looking exactly like what they are.

And then there is the prego. After the shellfish, you order a steak sandwich. This is the tradition at Ramiro, and it is non-negotiable. The steak is thick, the bread is soft, and the garlic butter from the shellfish is still on your fingers when you pick it up. It makes no sense on paper. It makes perfect sense at the table.

The room is three floors, loud, fast-paced, and full of people having exactly the kind of evening they came for. Anthony Bourdain ate here. Michelin-starred chefs eat here on their nights off. Families with children sit next to couples on dates sit next to groups of friends who came for the prawns and stayed for the third round of beer. The queue is real but moves fast. Reservations are now accepted, or you can use their online queue system.

→ See why this is Lisbon's most famous seafood restaurant ←

Avenida Almirante Reis 1-H, Intendente. Tuesday to Saturday noon to 12:30am. Sunday noon to midnight. Closed Mondays. Phone: +351 218 851 024. cervejariaramiro.pt. Expect €40-65 per person depending on how much shellfish you order (and you will order more than you planned).

Insider tip: Go on a Tuesday or Wednesday evening if you want to skip the queue. Friday and Saturday nights are the busiest but also the most atmospheric. Order the amêijoas first, the tiger prawns second, and the prego last. And bring a friend who doesn't mind sharing, because the portions are meant for the table, not the plate.

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See you tomorrow morning.