A-Infos (en) Quebec Government Gases Youth

[worker-a-infos-fr@lists.tao.ca]

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      A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
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Quebec City – An enorme political fiasco for the
Quebec government, not only the Parti Québécois (P.Q.)
must change its plans for the first day of its Youth
Summit (on the 22th) but it was also under siege
during many hours by more than 1500 demonstrators who
by force shut down the activities for the evening.

Beginning at 7p.m. (the demo was called for 6 :30p.m.)
some 500 young demonstrators forced the police
barricades (there were only a half a dozen cops at the
time) and started to seriously threaten to enter «
disrupt » the beautiful opening show planned by the
government. It got off to the right start, less that
one third of the demonstrators there and the tone was
already confrontation!!!

The crowd threatened to tear down the awning roof that
extends the entrance of the Grand Theatre (where the
show was to have taken place) and began to hit the
building’s beautiful bay windows with their placards. 
When the demonstrators began to use one of the police
barricades to force open the doors, the cops panicked.
The anti-riot were deployed and shot some canisters of
tear gas. The demonstrators responded with molotov
cocktails (the only that were used this evening to our
knowledge). An intensification of panic from the cops,
it’s the deluge of tear gas and panic amongst the
demonstrators. Quickly, a supplementary squad from the
Surete du Quebec-SQ (Quebec Provincial Police) spread
out in front of the Grand Theatre.

During this time crammed buses of arriving
demonstrators  from the exterior of the region
continued to arrive and the people who got off the
buses didn’t understand nothing of what was happening.
Little by little the demo grew until it reached 1500
(the cops, wanting to save face say it was 2000). What
remained of the evening is shared between the hailing
of tear gas on the demonstrators and hailing of
insults and eggs on the cops. Temporary assessment :
two arrests and one cop injured.

Finally, we can’t help but notice, for one of those
rare times, that red and black flags waved high in
Quebec City in this large demonstration. Of course,
there were not only revolutionaries there, but one is
forced to notice that the reformists were a political
minority (not only because of the police’s
intervention and violence). Tomorrow is another day
and probably the letter will try to reprocess this
demon and pass the trouble on the anarchists. This is
different than usual because for once it won’t be just
the usual denunciations «mud slinging». The
libertarians mobilised and were present en masse with
the strength of their banners, flags and leaflets.


Nicolas Phébus pour A-Infos
(so-so translation by Dee)
Quebec city, february 22th 2000



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