In pictures: Europe fuel protests

Protests are mounting across Europe as record fuel prices hit the livelihoods of fishermen, farmers and truckers. Some 7,000 striking fishermen lit flares at a demonstration in Madrid on Friday.

Spanish fishermen handed out 20 tonnes of free fish, to highlight what they say is the worst crisis facing the industry in a century, which they blame on rising costs and low wholesale fish prices.

The fishermen blew whistles and chanted slogans, while helmeted police kept order.

Trawlers stayed in port around the country as the Spanish fishermen began a nationwide strike.

In Portugal, fishing boats also sat idle as fishermen began a parallel strike. Union leaders said none of the country's nearly 5,000 vessels went out to sea on Friday.

The fishermen say competition from cheap imports, fishing quotas which restrict catch sizes, and the squeeze of rising diesel costs are making their business untenable.

French fishermen have been protesting for weeks, and some farmers joined in this week, blockading oil depots with tractors.

And in Bulgaria, more than 100 truck drivers drove slowly in convoy on the ring road around the capital, Sofia, in a call for government help with rising prices.