Hundreds arrested in latest student protests in Quebec
Police in Quebec have arrested almost 700 in the latest demonstrations against the government's plan to increase tuition fees. The protests came despite a new law restricting freedom of assembly in the Canadian province.
A growing social crisis in the Canadian province of Quebec claimed its second political victim on Thursday, when Premier Jean Charest sacked his top aide, replacing him with a former chief of staff. It's believed that Daniel Gagnier's main job will be to attempt to find a way of ending months of student unrest on Quebec's streets.
The move came just hours after police arrested almost 700 demonstrators in the mainly French-speaking province's two major cities, Montreal and Quebec City, the website of Canada's public broadcaster, CBC reported.
This was the highest number of arrests since a series of protests began in mid-February over the government's plans to increase the tuition fees students pay at Quebec universities by about 75 percent over the next five years. In negotiations so far, the government has offered to spread out the increase over seven years. Currently Quebec students pay some of the lowest tuition fees in North America, at an average of around CA$2,500 ($2,430, 1,900 euros) per year.
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