QUEBEC CITY - Protests by striking students in Quebec City and Montreal ended Thursday with police pepper-spraying and arresting at least 40 people.

A demonstration in the provincial capital degenerated at around 1 p.m. after a philosophy instructor joined a protest near a community college.

The man read a manifesto defending the students' freedom of expression while denouncing police brutality.

About 200 students then marched on the college and were surrounded by police. Students and officers pushed and shoved. Dozens of people were handcuffed and cited for municipal infractions.

In Montreal, a group of several-dozen students, many wearing masks, blocked the main entrance to a downtown office tower around 7 a.m.

At the same time, a smaller group of protesters approached a nearby car, apparently at random, and opened the doors.

The female driver fled and the two students jumped in and blasted the horn while others jumped on the car's roof.

Police moved in and arrested the group before forcibly removing the other demonstrators.

A number of student protests have ended in violence since province-wide strikes began in January.

Students are upset Premier Jean Charest is increasing tuition by $1,625 over the next five years.

Education Minister Line Beauchamp said Thursday she's prepared to negotiate with two students groups to end the strike.

She is refusing to meet with the largest and most radical group, the CLASSE, which has refused to denounce the violence.