Thousands march in evening protest in downtown Montreal

Thousands of protesters hit the streets of downtown Montreal Tuesday night as part of student protests against the province's austeritymeasures.

Crowds gathered atParcmilie-Gamelinat 9 p.m. beforemarchingalong the downtown streets.

Police quickly declared the protest illegal, saying an itinerary of the route was not provided,and began makingarrests.

There were clashes between protesters and police near the corner of Rene Levesque and St.-Laurent.

Police said some projectiles were thrownand the windows on two patrol cars weresmashed.

The event was organized by an anti-capitalist groupcalledMouvement tudiant rvolutionnaire.