By Crispian Balmer

PARIS (Reuters) - Rocketing world oil prices aroused growing demands for action to hold down European fuel costs, ranging from calls from government leaders to road protests by truckers and blockades by fishermen.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Tuesday the European Union should consider capping sales taxes on fuel products if oil prices rose further, but his proposal got short shrift from Brussels.

In an interview with RTL radio in which he sought to allay concerns about accelerating inflation, Sarkozy said there was no sign the price of oil would fall and called on EU partners to consider a joint approach to the problem.

"If the price of a barrel of oil continues to rise, are we going to allow VAT (sales tax) to keep rising proportionately? My proposal is that we should stabilise it," he said.

Any such move would need the approval of all 27 EU member states. Such unanimity may be hard to secure given EU finance ministers pledged in 2005 not to cut taxes on fuel in response to rising energy prices and have since reaffirmed the stance.

The Brussels-based European Commission said it was not clear if Sarkozy's idea was the best response to rising oil prices.

"On another occasion where oil prices were discussed, the Commission said with the member states' agreement that changing taxation on fuels in order to combat increasing prices would send the wrong message to producing countries," Commission energy spokesman Ferran Tarradellas said.

"This would show them that they could increase prices, and citizens would have to pay for this," he said.