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Police in full riot gear marched the the street in an area that was soon thick with pepper spray.

Within the crowd, some people were wearing ski goggles and masks as they ran away from police who had ordered the crowd to disperse around 10:15 p.m. Not long after the vandalism started.

Windows of banks and several stores were shattered while cars were vandalized and bricks were also reportedly thrown at mounted police.

Earlier in the day, students were angry at Education Minister Line Beauchamp’s decision to exclude the student association – CLASSE – from talks, a move that was viewed as callous and divisive, but student leaders called on their members to demonstrate peacefully.

As the night wore on, tensions escalated and masked protesters clashed with demonstrators who reminded them it was supposed to be a peaceful demonstration.

Despite pleas for calm from student leaders, by 10 p.m., there were reports of vandalism, paint thrown at cars and buildings as well as broken windows at the Banque Nationale and several other banks along the march route.

“We want students to understand the principle is to stay peaceful,” said Martine Desjardins, president of the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec. “We won’t go where the government wants us to go.”

“Today I applaud your courage, your determination and our resistance,” UQAM political science student Chloé Domingue-Bouchard told the crowd before it began the march. “It was that courage that led to the negotiating table … and we will not be intimidated by Line Beauchamp.”

The afternoon march which, while noisy, wove through the city core without incident, followed a hectic 24 hours for police that started when a small group of protesters clashed with police on Tuesday night.

Asked about the disruptions of the past 24 hours — which included three smoke bombs set off in two metro stations and an indoor mall — Montreal mayor Gérald Tremblay urged the Quebec government to fast-track a resolution to the conflict as quickly as possible.

Montreal Gazette