France on Wednesday echoed Italy's warnings of the risk of Libya becoming the staging point for a massive increase in migration from Africa, dpa reported.
"We're not talking about tens of thousands of illegal migrants who could arrive in Europe. We're talking about potentially 200,000 to 300,000 people over a year who could try to cross the Mediterranean towards Europe," European Affairs Minister Laurent Wauquiez told French public radio.
France held "exactly the same position" as Italy on the issue, he said.
Italy has also evoked the threat of as many as 300,000 would-be migrants making a dash for Europe if the regime of embattled Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi collapses.
Italy, the closest EU country to parts of north-east Africa, is one of the main arrival points for African migrants.
Last month around 5,000 Tunisians landed on the Italian island of Lampedusa.
Northern European countries have reacted sceptically to Italy's warnings, pointing out that there is no evidence yet of an influx.
The EU is set to discuss migration at an extraordinary summit on Libya on March 11.