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Montreal students return to streets to protest tuition hike

Sacrebleu! Round two?

Thousands of Quebec university students took to the streets in Montreal on Tuesday, again, in what police are calling an illegal protest over tuition hikes.

Those of you who thought that was over are not alone.

Months of demonstrations against proposed tuition increases ended last year when the three-term Liberal government was replaced by the Parti Québécois, seen to be far more accommodating to the cause of the rabble-rousers.

CBC News reports that thousands of people took to the streets after the government announced it would index tuition to the cost of living.

[ More Brew: Montreal's 'Officer 728' arrested after accusations of brutality ]

Which means fees will increase about three per cent, or $70 a year.

The Parti Québécois had vowed to hold the line on tuition and earned the support of the protesting student class during last year’s election. But, as with many minority governments, keeping campaign promises has become very tough.

"Students will be there to remind the government that they didn't take part in six months of strikes to get an increase in tuition," student union president Jérémie Bédard-Wien told CBC News.

Montreal police have declared the strike illegal because student unions did not provide warning before staging the march.