A Sri Lankan man wanted on an international arrest warrant for terrorism has been discovered in France by accident, after he walked into a police station to complain about poor working conditions.

Judicial sources say Jeyanthan Tharmalingam, 35, went to police in eastern Paris last Thursday to give a statement in a case about illegal employment in which he was a victim.

But police quickly realised he was the subject of "an international arrest warrant for terrorism", a police source said on condition of anonymity.

Tharmalingam has appeared before a Paris court where he was notified of the warrant against him before being released on bail.

He is alleged to be a member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam which waged a 37-year long separatist war that left at least 100,000 dead, according to UN estimates, and was defeated by the army in 2009.

He is listed on the Interpol website as wanted for terrorism.

AFP