French police use tear gas against protesters in central Paris

PARIS, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Police fired tear gas canisters at "yellow vest" protesters in central Paris on Saturday during a demonstration against the high cost of living.

A police spokeswoman told reporters there were about 1,500 protesters on the Champs Elysees and authorities said 127 people had been placed under arrest after police found weapons such as hammers, baseball bats and metal petanque balls on them.

Some 8,000 police were deployed in Paris to avoid a repeat of last Saturday's mayhem, when rioters torched cars and looted shops off the Champs Elysees boulevard, and defaced the Arc de Triomphe monument with graffiti directed at President Emmanuel Macron. (Reporting by Geert De Clercq Editing by Gareth Jones)