PARIS, Nov 30 (AFP) - Eight AIDS activists splashed red paint on the gates of French President Jacques Chirac's official residence Tuesday before being arrested by police, officers said.

The activists, from the Paris chapter of the international ACT UP association, threw the paint on Chirac's Elysee palace to "denounce the president's mix of inaction and hypocrisy regarding AIDS," the association said in a statement.

The stunt took place one day before Wednesday's World AIDS Day.

Police said the eight were taken to a nearby police station for an identity check, and the gates were quickly cleaned.

In its statement, ACT UP said the situation for AIDS and HIV sufferers had worsened since Chirac's re-election to a second term in 2002.

"He puts other, budgetary issues before health priorities," it said.

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