Protests Greet French Far-Right Leader in Canada

Protests and hotel cancellations have marred French far-right leader Marine Le Pen's visit to Canada, her party said Tuesday.

Two Montreal hotels successively canceled her bookings of banquet halls that were to be used for news conferences, the National Front said in a statement.

The moves came after violence erupted at a previous event.

"Marine Le Pen will not yield to intimidation, neither in France nor in Quebec," the party said in response to growing antipathy to her visit.

On Sunday, a dozen young protesters crashed a news conference and clashed with security.

At the event, Le Pen criticized Canada's welcoming of tens of thousands of Syrian refugees as well as the new Liberal government's decision to overturn a law stripping dual nationals convicted of terrorism of their Canadian citizenship.

The protestors decried Le Pen's visit to Canada's Quebec province. Local political leaders have refused to meet with her and urged their supporters to avoid her.

Le Pen has meanwhile been interviewed by a growing number of local newspapers and broadcasters over the past four days.

Although she traveled to Canada as part of a European trade delegation putting the final touches on a Canada-EU trade pact, she has yet to participate in any of its meetings in Ottawa.

She was scheduled to rejoin the delegation's eight other members in Montreal Tuesday afternoon as they wrap up their trip.

Canada's parliament is expected to scrutinize the trade accord's final text in a few months.