MONTREAL — At the City of Montreal’s request, police dismantled a pro-Palestinian encampment in the heart of the financial district on Friday, but the other, larger, occupation — on McGill University’s downtown campus — was left untouched.

Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante told reporters after Victoria Square had been cleared that she used a city bylaw to remove the protesters, whose two-week occupation she said prevented citizens, as well as firefighters and other municipal workers, from accessing a public space.