Thousands protest in Montreal

MONTREAL – Despite scattered showers, several thousand people marched through the streets of Montreal Saturday afternoon to voice their anger with the Charest government over its handling of the tuition-fee dispute.

Quebecers young and old joined students at the rally, which featured protest songs blaring from a van and the clanging of pots and pans that has become customary at recent protests.

“This isn’t a student strike, it’s a society waking up,” read a banner at the march.

The latest demonstration comes after talks over tuition fees between student leaders and the Quebec government broke down on Thursday.

The event was a chance for supporters to gather to voice their displeasure with the lack of progress in ending a crisis that has gripped Quebec for nearly four months, and with Bill 78, the province’s new emergency law that limits protests.

Gabrielle Nadeau-Dubois, a spokesman for student association CLASSE, which organized the demonstration, said it will continue to protest through the summer.

“We are going to hand out information ... so that tourists who visit Quebec will know what’s going on here and so they understand why they see images of protests on television every day,” he told reporters prior to the march.

Another protest was planned in Montreal for Saturday night, for the 40th night in a row.

Premier Jean Charest’s Liberal government passed Bill 78 last month in hopes of calming student protests, which have at times turned violent. Student leaders can face stiff fines under the new law for supporting illegal demonstrations.