Montreal Students Occupy Banks in 12-Hour Protest Marathon

Students occupy the Centre de Commerce Mondial in Montreal earlier today

Students in Montreal and across Quebec today continue their protest against tuition increases and austerity measures in education with a 12-hour ¨“marathon of intensive vindication,” according to organizers. Today will see rolling student protests mostly focused against banks. In Montreal, marches leave from Victoria Square every hour and will each take unique routes through downtown.

Just after 8am ET this morning, Montreal police dispersed a blockade ot the Banque Nationale tower using chemical weapons, preventing hundreds from getting to work inside. Meanwhile, in Quebec City, 60 protesters occupied a CIBC bank near the National Assembly. When police entered to remove them, the group merely crossed the street and occupied a Banque Nationale branch.

Student groups have held demonstrations nearly every day since they declared an indefinite strike on classes nearly two months ago. The strike is the longest in Quebec's history and some marches have topped 200,000. Follow on Twitter: #BloquonsLaHausse, #marathondemanif, @occuponsmontrea, #printempsquebecois, @99_Quebec.