MONTREAL - A large but mostly peaceful protest wound its way through the streets of Montreal Monday evening.
Thousands of people assembled at Emilie-Gamelin Park, near Berri-UQAM metro, beginning at about 8:30 p.m. A march began at about 9 p.m.
Others engaged in a silent candlelit vigil at Ste. Catherine and St. Denis Sts. The two groups later merged, forming a crowd of as many as 10,000 people.
A handful of people hurled paintballs and golf balls at buildings, cars, and officers, but the only arrest happened when an officer tried to stop a small group of people from drinking in public.
One individual tried to grab the officer's firearm. That person was arrested and will be charged for assaulting an officer.
Referred to as a night-time carnival, protesters were encouraged to wear black and masks or makeup and keep the mood sombre.
The city of Montreal is seeking to forbid people from wearing masks during demonstrations.
The Public Safety Commission had until Monday to assess possible changes to bylaws preventing masked protesters, but so far has made no declaration on the matter.
The Facebook event page said, "On the seventh day, God may have rested but we can't give up now. So instead of resting, we'll leave God to rest and participate in a huge disguised demonstration Monday night (round 7) in the series of evening demonstrations. Surprise, it's the Huge F****** Macabre Carnival!"
Thousands of protesters joined together to march peacefully in demonstrations over the weekend, but on Wednesday night, a march degenerated into a violent riot.
The split between the two sides of the student movement has been seen in recent days.
With a report from The Canadian Press
