FACTBOX: Fuel protests in Europe

(Reuters) - Spanish fishermen handed out free fish in Madrid on Friday while thousands of fellow seamen blew whistles outside the Fisheries Ministry demanding help to combat soaring fuel costs.

Soaring oil prices are triggering protests across Europe.

Here are some details:

* BRITAIN:

-- Truckers converged on London in convoy on Tuesday, closing a busy main road and causing traffic backlogs.

-- Similar protests took place in Wales. Welsh hauliers also threatened to blockade ports and refineries if the government doesn't help, stirring memories of refinery blockades in 2000 that caused shortages in some areas.

-- The drivers said fuel bills had risen by almost a half in a year and demanded a rebate. Britain has the highest fuel duty in the European Union.

* BULGARIA:

-- More than 100 truck drivers converged into a convoy on a ring road of the capital Sofia on Friday in a fresh protest to renew demands for excise duty rebates and government help over high fuel prices.

* FRANCE:

-- On Friday truckers organized two "operation snail" protests - driving their trucks at low speed blocking roads. The first held up traffic on a motorway between Paris and Charles de Gaulle airport. The second was in the central Haute Vienne area.

* Fishermen from several Normandy ports converged on Le Havre port on Friday morning to blockade it completely.

-- However local fishermen's groups in the Brittany ports of Lorient and Le Guilvinec decided to end their strike. In certain other ports the strikes continued despite growing divisions among fishermen.

-- On Thursday, French riot police scuffled with fishermen striking against the surging cost of oil, who were joined by hundreds of farmers using tractors to block fuel depots.

-- Diesel has gone up by 30 percent in 2008 and fishermen have said they want it discounted at half the market price.

* ITALY:

-- Italian fishermen in the Adriatic are expected to strike from Friday.

* NETHERLANDS:

-- Truckers displayed illuminated road signs around the country on Thursday urging motorists to honk their horns in solidarity.

-- Organizations representing logistic companies parked a huge truck outside parliament and handed over a petition to politicians calling on the government to reverse a diesel tax hike that is due to take effect on July 1.

* PORTUGAL:

-- Portugal's estimated 7,000 fishing boats remained at their docks on Friday and fishermen threatened to continue their stoppage until the government helps with soaring petrol costs.

* SPAIN:

-- Fishermen will not sail for 10 days and some threatened to block harbors, unless the government cracked down on foreign imports and subsidized marine fuel.

-- Truck drivers are threatening a strike from June 8 and taxi drivers are also planning protests over fuel.

-- Farmers in Catalonia will also announce protests.

(Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit;)