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Protesters screamed at police and chanted slogans like “You’re sexy, you’re cute, take off your riot suit.” One held a sign that said “$ + sexe + pollution = Grand Prix.”

Protesters told reporters they were naked for a number of reasons; to show the government they have been transparent in their demands to freeze tuition fees, to garner more media attention to their cause, and to discourage police from handling them roughly.

“Our nudity expresses the demand for transparency,” a male student, clad only in gray cotton underwear said. “The government is masked. It conceals its own motives, as we have seen in the negotiations.”

The student requested that his name not be printed for fear that his mother would find out he was taking part in the protests.

Thousands of student marchers stripped down to their underwear, the women thinly concealing their breasts with red body paint and the red cloth squares that have become a symbol of the protests.

“Everyone naked in the street,” they chanted as they banged pots and pans together — another feature of the nightly demonstrations held across the province.

“Formula One! Polluter! Sexist! Thief!” they shouted.

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The downtown core was packed with Montrealers and tourists, eating dinner outside or roaming the sidewalks taking in the scene, as if it was all part of the season of summer festivals in Montreal.

Some smiled, laughed or covered their eyes at the sight of the naked marchers, and virtually everyone had their phones out, snapping photos.