Kathmandu  - Nepal police arrested a Frenchman wanted internationally on paedophile charges, media reports said Sunday.

Jean Jacques Haye, 60, was arrested in the north-eastern outskirts of Kathmandu on a tip from an organization working for children, the Himalayan Times newspaper quoted police as saying.

French authorities were seeking Haye on charges of sexually abusing of children, and an Interpol warrant was issued.

"During interrogation, Haye said he was married to a Nepali woman and was living in Kathmandu since August last year," said Mira Choudhary, deputy superintendent of Kathmandu Metropolitan Police.

He said a Nepalese woman claimed she was Haye's spouse and that she had been living with him for the past 10 years.

"She, however, could not produce any evidence to back her claims," Choudhary said.

Police said they believed the alleged paedophile had managed to escape from France to Nepal via Istanbul, Turkey, to avoid capture.

Haye will be handed over to the Department of Immigration for extradition to France, as the two countries have a treaty. (dpa)