Graffiti and vandalism | Short anti-capitalist demonstration in downtown Montreal

Protesters against capitalism gathered downtown on Sunday afternoon were dispersed by the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) after they broke windows, painted graffiti and threw projectiles at the police.

Lila Dussault
The Press

“It degenerated very, very quickly,” said Sergeant Manuel Couture, media relations officer for the SPVM. Around 5 p.m., a crowd of a few hundred people gathered at Place du Canada in downtown Montreal, where Indigenous activists gave several speeches.

“This year, anti-capitalist activists have sent a clear message: there will never be enough cops, enough crass laws, or enough jails to cover up the crimes committed in the name of the white supremacist capitalist economy,” said in a press release the CLAC (Convergence of anti-capitalist struggles, Montreal), responsible for the rally.

The group set off around 5:45 p.m. About fifteen minutes later, smoke bombs were used. Quickly, the demonstration took an aggressive turn, details Manuel Couture. Windows were smashed, graffiti was sprayed on storefronts and luxury cars, and rocks were thrown at police officers who surrounded the rally.

“A lot of people had ski masks in the crowd and as soon as they arrived [à l’intersection] René-Lévesque and Robert-Bourassa, they started breaking shop windows,” says Manuel Couture.

“Symbols of capitalism and colonialism have been legitimately targeted by protesters, such as Google, the Palais des Congrès and several banks,” CLAC said by email. Together, we proved to them that fear must change sides. »

At 6:04 p.m., the SPVM clarified on Twitter that a dispersal operation was underway in the Palais des Congrès sector. “People must leave the premises immediately,” tweeted the SPVM.

After requests from the SPVM, “irritating agents” were used to disperse the crowd, adds Manuel Couture. Around 6:15 p.m., the gathering dispersed. SPVM officers continued to patrol the area.

According to the CLAC, the SPVM “deployed its rottenness to come and repress, beat and prevent activists from expressing their hatred towards a colonial system leading us straight to the ecological precipice”. The CLAC denounces in particular a “unnecessarily disproportionate police device”.

At 6:25 p.m., the SPVM announced on Twitter that “the dispersal operation” was over. A 25-year-old man was arrested for armed assault on a police officer, said Véronique Comtois, public relations officer at the SPVM. A total of 12 criminal acts are under investigation, including 7 misdeeds, 4 assaults with a weapon and assault on police officers. In addition, two police officers and a citizen were injured.

“I think there is a little general disgust among the population [envers le capitalisme]so they attack what they can see in the city”, analyzes Jamai Mamoul, a 24-year-old resident of the neighborhood met by The Press in front of the Google Montreal building, avenue Viger.

With his friend and neighbor El Mostafa Kahbaz, he heard the demonstration and noise for about thirty minutes on Sunday. “We were not present during the breakage,” says Mr. Mamoul.

At his side, Mr. Kahbaz, 25, believes that the movement reminds him of that of the yellow vests in France. “We don’t know too much about the various demonstrations here, but if it’s against capitalism, there must have been a lot of people there,” he adds. The French yellow vests protested in particular against the increase in the cost of gasoline from 2018.

1^er May 2021, an anti-capitalist demonstration was also declared illegal in Montreal.