Riot police clash with striking students in Montreal (VIDEO)
Students and police clash during tuition protests in Montreal on March 7, 2012.
Riot police used pepper spray and tear gas as Quebec students protested rising tuition fees in Montreal today.
Students marched on the Loto Quebec headquarters and to the site where education administrators were meeting, Sun Media reported.
Police moved in, they said, after students started to block the entrance to a medical clinic.
According to the agency Postmedia News, five students were arrested and four were injured among the demonstrators who numbered at least 1,000.
Student leaders and police blamed each other when the violence escalated, CTV News said.
Television news cameras captured students throwing objects at police, who were also seen wrestling students to the ground.
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The Quebec government plans to raise tuition about $300 per year over the next five years, The Canadian Press said.
However, that would still leave Quebec with the lowest tuition in Canada.
According to Sun Media, the average annual cost of university tuition in Quebec is $2,519.
The Quebec student union CLASSE represents 127,000 “striking students.”
Police have not released how many arrests they made, or what students might be charged with.
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