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The student leaders also warned that they won’t be pressured into hastily accepting a deal this time. A few weeks ago, the sides emerged from an all-night negotiating session with an agreement that was ultimately rejected by voters at student assemblies.

The students are now saying they have more leverage, and less pressure, than they did the last time. At the time, school semesters had been at risk of being cancelled but they have since been paused and will resume in mid-August.

The government, on the other hand, has a more immediate worry: that a prolonged dispute will cause chaos for tourists heading to take in Montreal’s big summer festivals.

“What’s changed? Now the pressure is on the government,” Martine Desjardins, one of the student leaders, said on her way into the meeting.

“All the students have their session suspended… and they can wait until autumn. But the government, they have pressure.”

She said her group, the more moderate university students’ federation, was willing to spend all week negotiating in Quebec City.

A representative of the more hardline CLASSE group offered a similar take.

Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, a co-spokesman for the group, quipped that there would be no repeat of what happened earlier this month; back then, students were told during an evening, night and morning of talks that nobody could leave until there was a deal.

“We will certainly refuse to have negotiations all night long. We will ask — and we will take — breaks to eat and sleep if it’s necessary,” Nadeau-Dubois said.