Jeyanthan Tharmalingam, 35, went last Thursday to give a statement in a case about illegal employment in which he was a victim, at a police station in the eastern suburbs of Paris, judicial sources said.
But police quickly realised he was the subject of "an international arrest warrant for terrorism", a police source said on condition of anonymity.
He appeared before a Paris court where he was notified of the warrant against him before being released on bail.
He is listed on the Interpol website as wanted for terrorism.
