Nadal, who reached the final at Bercy once in 2007, was only briefly in the mix, conceding serve three times.
Zverev will look to claim his fourth Masters title against Russian third seed Daniil Medvedev, who qualified with a commanding 6-4 7-6(4) victory against Canadian Milos Raonic.
Meanwhile Novak Djokovic has sealed the year-end men's world number one tennis ranking for the sixth time to go level with childhood hero Pete Sampras after closest rival Nadal opted against playing in the ATP Tour event in Sofia next week.
