The French retailer has struggled to stem declining sales in its home market by cutting prices and stepping up advertising as consumers shun suburban superstores. Carrefour last week denied speculation that it was planning to sell its operations in Latin America and Asia, where revenue growth has at least partly offset the decline in western Europe.

"Turning around the hypermarkets in a deflationary environment and with a weak price image is not going to be easy," JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst Jaime Vazquez said in a note. Stores in emerging markets "are the only ones doing well and offering good growth prospects" so selling them "makes no sense other than making short-term financial gain," he said.