Philippe Couillard news conference crashed by protesters

A handful of protestors crashed Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard's news conference this morning after dodging the significant security presence at the Liberal caucus meeting in St-Georges-de-Beauce.

• Quebec students, unions, teachers march against government cuts

Four people denouncing cuts to education arrived at the hotel restaurant ahead of Couillard's arrival, avoidingchecks by bodyguards andSretdu Quebec officers.

When the premier started talking to reporters, they ran in chanting in French,"Philippe Couillard is giving up on public education," comingwithin a metre of Couillard.

The protestors were with the Quebec Teacher's Federation and were denouncing cuts to the education system.

In the last budget, spending on education went up by 0.8 per cent, so when you take into account inflation, it amounts to a cut.

Couillard says he has no problem with protestors, but believes they do not represent what the majority of the population thinks about his agenda.

"For each protestor, you probably have hundreds of persons not protesting. So all opinions are legitimate and have to be heard. But the decisions my government will take will not be influenced by demonstrations or other similar gestures," he said.

The province and teachers are also in the midst of negotiations for the next collective agreement.

Outside, about 20 protestors continued in front of the hotel. The head of the Fdration autonome de l'enseignement, an organisation made up six different teachers' union and representing 32,600 teachers, says they will not rule out a general strike if the government is not more responsive to their concerns.