Europe can no longer provide sanctuary for vast numbers of refugees fleeing the on-going conflict in the Middle East,  French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has been quoted saying on Wednesday.

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Valls told a German newspaper that the massive influx of asylum seekers into the European continent in recent months has stretched the resources of European nations beyond their limits. 

"We cannot accommodate any more refugees in Europe, that's not possible," Valls said. While he  later claimed there was an error in the translation, and that he meant to say that Europe could no longer take in "so many refugees", the point the French prime minister was trying to make was not lost to those who have likened Europe's current difficulties to the massive refugee crisis that engulfed the continent during World War II.

Valls made the comment just before German Chancellor Angela Merkel was scheduled to meet with French President Francois Hollande in Paris. Merkel, who has stood by Germany's refugee policy, has come under increasing criticism lately as the the flow of migrants into Europe continues to spawn political, economic, and humanitarian problems. Valls however avoided criticizing Merkel directly, and said that Germany made an honorable choice when it suspended asylum rules to let in refugees previously stranded in Hungary. 

The deadly Paris attacks have added fuel to the raging political debate surrounding the issue, which has divided Europe and raised fears that Islamic State militants might use Europe's open borders to sneak into the continent.   "It was not France that said 'Come!", the French prime minister said  in an apparent reference to Germany's decision to open its borders to refugees last September.

The exact number of refugees that have arrived in Europe since the beginning of the conflict in Syria is unclear.  Some asylum-seekers may have crossed into the continent undetected. But several EU countries have already begun to impose border controls to reduce the number of arrivals, according to the BBC. 

In September, Valls told CNN's Christian Amanpour that Europe cannot solve its migrant crisis simply by welcoming refugees.  The problem must be tackled at the source, he said, by destroying the Islamic State, getting rid of Bashar al-Assad, and establishing political dialogue with all sides concerned.    

TagsValls, Germany, Syrian refugees, migrant crisis, European Union, ISIS, Paris Attacks