Formula One fans are the first to pay for the escalating dispute between students and the authorities in Montreal before the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend.
Organisers have cancelled the traditional “Open Doors” day for fans to stroll freely around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve citing security fears. The open day has become a massive draw for thousands who might not be able to afford the sky-high prices of attending a full-blown grand prix.
Over the years, the Thursday afternoon build-up has been a chance for any Formula One fan to turn up and get an autograph and see the cars up close.
But student activists have pledged to disrupt this year’s Canadian Grand Prix as part of their campaign against Quebec government measures to raise tuition fees by 75 per cent. Almost 155,000 students have been on strike since February amid daily street protests that have led to clashes with police and a raft of new laws banning mass demonstrations.
Peace negotiations between student leaders and Jean Charest, the Quebec premier, broke down last week. Student leaders have identified the grand prix as a target for disruption to embarrass state officials and cause maximum damage to Montreal’s lucrative tourist trade, which is headed by the three-day grand prix.
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The Montreal race is one of the most popular on the Formula One calendar, attracting up to 300,000 spectators and worth about £65 million to the Quebec economy.
However, hotel bookings are already down and tickets unsold. The latest move by the race organisers will hardly inspire confidence among spectators wavering over whether they should risk running a gauntlet of angry protestors on their way to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
“Following a serious examination of the situation, made necessary by public disruption threats and the difficulty to measure their precise validity, the organisers came to the conclusion that it is necessary to restrain the access to Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve and precisely the F1 pit lane,” a statement from the organisers said. Francois Dumontier, president of the race, added that risks could not be ignored.
“One of our primary obligations is to ensure the comfort and the security of the participants and the spectators, something we will do as we open the turnstiles Friday morning, and again during the whole weekend,” he said.
“Considering the various disruption threats made public recently, the free admission and the naturally open character of the ‘Open Doors’ day revealed some risks that we could not neglect. Under these circumstances, cancelling the ‘Open Doors’ day was the only action we could take.”
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The irony of the threats from Montreal will not escape the drivers and teams who were subjected to intense politicial pressure in Bahrain in April, where the island kingdom was engulfed in daily protests, mainly targeted at the grand prix.