Montreal protest goes violent, 85 arrested

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MONTREAL, April 26 (UPI) -- Cleanup was under way in Montreal Thursday hours after another student protest turned into a riot and 69 men and 16 women were arrested, police said.

Police allowed some 5,000 demonstrators to march in the downtown core Wednesday night before declaring it an illegal event, The (Montreal) Gazette reported.

The demonstrators, many wearing masks and balaclavas, smashed storefront windows, set a car on fire and vandalized other vehicles, police said.

Police on horseback and shield-carrying riot officers advanced on the crowd, firing pepper spray and percussion grenades to break up the demonstration.

Police said three officers and several protesters sustained minor injuries.

Investigators asked for links to any social media photos or videos to help identify the vandals, the Gazette said.

There have been several large scale protests that turned violent since the Liberal provincial government announced plans to increase university tuition over the next three years.

Even after the three increases, Quebec will still have the least expensive tuition in all of Canada.