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Wills and Kate meet with resentment in Montreal
Canada is revolting: first hiccup for royal ‘parasites’ as protests are staged
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's trip to Canada is full of firsts: the couple's first royal visit abroad, Kate's first tree-planting ceremony (she handled a spade with aplomb, despite four-inch heels) and now their first anti-monarchist demonstration.
The royal couple were greeted in Montreal yesterday by a small but vocal protest, under banners dubbing them "parasites" and exclaiming "la monarchie – personne a vote pour ca" ("monarchy – nobody voted for that). Reports put the size of the group at between 30 and 100.
Because their slogans were chanted in French, some newspapers dismissed the group as "separatists". However, many expressed more general anti-monarchist feeling, mainly to do with the cost to Canadian taxpayers of the royal visit, estimated to be £950,000.
One protester, France Kirouette, told the Montreal Gazette: "William and Kate are rich enough to pay their own way but it's the citizens who are paying [for the trip], while we do not have enough money to maintain our schools, our roads, our hospitals."
Separatist organisation Reseau de Resistance du Quebecois, which wants independence for the majority Francophone province of Quebec, was said to be planning further protests for Sunday.
In 2009, the group led an anti-monarchy demonstration in Montreal while Prince Charles and Camilla were visiting the city – and, according to the Globe and Mail has a "tendency to get rowdy".
It seems the newly-weds' honeymoon really is over. ·
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Just feel sorry for Canadians as they are unsure as to what they are, British - French - American, or occasionally Canadian.
Every country has its share of trouble makers the UK is full of them. Look to the Irish situation and compare that with Quebec separatists lawful demonstrations in the street. no contest.
Hope that guy holding the banner is Native American; if he ain't, we were there before he was!
The French in Canada spend millions crucifying the French language with their dialect. Toronto now has a whole community of francophones which it did not have before. Small wonder they can only field a hundred or so protesters.