Bill 78, officially titled An Act to enable students to receive instruction from the postsecondary institutions they attend,[1] led to an emergency law passed on 18 May 2012 by the National Assembly of Quebec.

The planned tuition increases were subsequently repealed in September 2012, by a decree from Pauline Marois's newly elected Parti Québécois government.

"[10] Still, groups of protesting students on 16 May walked through the corridors of Université du Québec à Montreal buildings and entered classrooms to disrupt ongoing classes and vandalize, leading the administration to suspend teaching.

[28] Employees of the colleges and universities may strike with accordance to the Labour Code, but they are still required to work their normal scheduled hours and carry out their usual duties.

[2] The bill establishes a date after which all education employees must return to work, and prohibits them from striking should this, "by act or omission", prevent students from receiving instruction, or indirectly impede services.

This is especially true since certain cells will persist in a strategy designed to create and sustain chaos and intimidation despite the potential good intentions of the parties involved.

"[32] Michel Leblanc, president and chief executive of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal has welcomed the new law as a way to protect downtown businesses, and André Poulin of Destination Centre-Ville has been supportive.

[33] Justice Minister Jean-Marc Fournier has stated that the intent of the law is to return calm to Quebec society, and show respect to the rights and education of non-striking students.

[23] Louis Masson, head of the Bar of Quebec has questioned the constitutionality of the law, though the Canadian Press has stated that some members are upset with this position.

[36] The bill was also criticized by the United Nations, with the UN High Commissioner stating that: "In the context of student protests, I am disappointed by the new legislation passed in Quebec that restricts their rights to freedom of association and of peaceful assembly".

News outlets reported the throwing of at least one and possibly more molotov cocktails,[38] and the response of police with rubber bullets, tear gas and percussion bombs against protesters.

[44] Responding to student calls for civil disobedience, Quebec Justice Minister Jean-Marc Fournier declared that the practice "is a nice word for vandalism.

[46] Protests continued daily in the following days, with citizens now banging on pots and pans (cacerolazo) to express their opposition to Bill 78, first in Montreal and then in other cities and then to small towns across the province.

Medias reported that many groups primarily concerned with the special law, and not necessarily sympathetic to students' demands, joined the gatherings across Quebec.