The Montreal Protests / Διαμαρτυρίες στο Μόντρεαλ

The Montreal Protests, 4 Months In

Thousands of demonstrators march against a 75-percent tuition hike at universities in Canada's mostly French-speaking Quebec province, in downtown Montreal, Quebec, on May 22, 2012. Tens of thousands marched in a rally marking 100 days of student protests. (Reuters/Olivier Jean

 Beginning in February, students throughout Quebec began protesting against a proposed 75 percent hike in the cost of their tuition. Demonstrators staged strikes, sit-ins, and marches, in some cases drawing hundreds of thousands of participants and incurring hundreds of arrests. Quebec's government responded by passing a controversial emergency law, Bill 78, that places strict limits on free assembly, including a provision that requires demonstrators to submit protest plans and receive police approval. Reacting to the new law, hundreds of thousands more took to the streets to join the broadening protest. Now, four months later, nightly demonstrations continue across Montreal. These marches are called "casseroles," as participants use pots and pans to create noise and call for attention.

Αρχίζοντας το Φεβρουάριο, οι μαθητές σε ολόκληρη τη Κεμπέκ, άρχισαν να διαμαρτύρονται εναντίον μιας προτεινόμενης αύξησης 75% του κόστους των διδάκτρων τους. Οι διαδηλωτές οργάνωσαν απεργίες, καταλήψεις, πορείες και έγιναν εκατοντάδες συλλήψεις. Η Κυβέρνηση του Κεμπέκ απάντησε περνώντας από έναν αμφιλεγόμενο νόμο έκτακτης ανάγκης, ο Bill 78, που θέτει αυστηρά όρια στην ελεύθερη συνέλευση, που περιλαμβάνει διάταξη που απαιτεί, οι διαδηλωτές να υποβάλουν τα σχέδια διαμαρτυρίας και να λάβουν την έγκριση της αστυνομίας. Αντιδρώντας στο νέο νόμο, εκατοντάδες χιλιάδες βγήκαν στους δρόμους για να συμμετάσχουν στην διεύρυνση της διαμαρτυρίας. Τώρα, τέσσερις μήνες μετά, οι νυχτερινές διαδηλώσεις συνεχίζονται σε ολόκληρο το Μόντρεαλ. Αυτές οι πορείες ονομάζονται "κατσαρόλες", καθώς οι συμμετέχοντες, χρησιμοποιούν κατσαρόλες και τηγάνια για να δημιουργήσουν θόρυβο και να γίνει αισθητή η διαμαρτυρία τους.

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Thousands of students gather to protest against tuition hikes in downtown Montreal, on March 22, 2012.

(Reuters/Olivier Jean)

Riot police stand guard during a student demonstrations outside Le Victorin Hotel where the annual Liberal Convention is being held on May 4, 2012 in Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada. These protests came on the 12th week of a strike by some 170,000 students. (Rogerio Barbosa/AFP/GettyImages).

Tens of thousands of students protest on March 22, 2012, bringing downtown Montreal to a standstill. "Yell louder so that nobody ignores us," shouted demonstrators who converged on the metropolis from across the province, packing a two-kilometer stretch of the city's streets. Since mid-February nearly 300,000 students have boycotted classes, blocked bridges and held smaller protests around the province against the government's plan to raise tuition over the next five years. (Rogerio Barbosa/AFP/Getty Images)

Demonstrators march in a protest against the Quebec Liberal Government on June 2, 2012, in Montreal. Thousands of people took to the streets of Montreal Saturday braving driving rain to protest planned tuition hikes and an emergency law after talks between students and the Quebec government broke down. (Rogerio Barbosa/AFP/Getty Images)

Wheelchair-bound citizens join students protesting tuition fee increases in Montreal, on June 1, 2012. Talks between students and the Quebec government aimed at ending months of protests over a proposed tuition hike collapsed, with nightly street demonstrations showing no sign of abating. (Rogerio Barbosa/AFP/Getty Images

Demonstrators march as they protest student tuition hikes on May 23, 2012. Nearly 700 people were arrested overnight in rowdy demonstrations in Montreal, with rocks being hurled at police, a spokesman said. Police in Montreal had said the unsanctioned protest would be tolerated if there was no trouble but after some unruly behavior around midnight they moved in and arrested 518 demonstrators. Another 170 people were detained in Quebec. (Andre Tremblay/AFP/Getty Images)

A protester is arrested during a demonstration in Victoriaville, on May 4, 2012. (Reuters/Christinne Muschi)

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