In addition to Carrefour's home market of France the advertising brief will include Asia and South America. Previously much of the business was held by Havas agency Euro RSCG.
As a result of the global nature of the win, Publicis is expected to form a separate agency that will be totally dedicated to the account.
The win follows Publicis' recent appointment by Procter & Gamble as global agency for toothpaste brand Crest.
Carrefour was France's second biggest advertiser after Renault during 2008. In the last quarter the retailer reported its worst sales figures for five years.
Fourth quarter sales rose by just 0.7% to £25.74bn, almost £3bn below analysts' expectations, while like-for-like sales have dropped 3.5% in Europe.
Carrefour's poor performance contrasts with healthy figures for supermarkets such Casino and Delhaize, which both operate in similar markets.