Bautheac, 30, joins Roar as a free agent from LOSC Lille.
The pacey attacker, who also had playing stints with AS Cannes, Dijon and Nice, has made a total of 172 appearances in Ligue 1, scoring 26 goals.
Bautheac becomes only the third Frenchman after William Gallas and Matthieu Delpierre to play in the A-League.
“Eric is a top quality footballer who has played at the highest level in France for many years,” Roar head coach John Aloisi said.
“He is the left-sided attacker we have been searching for and his pace and European experience will cause opposition defences plenty of problems.”
Bautheac joins the Roar’s other major off-season signings, Italian striker Massimo Maccarone and Tunisian midfielder Fahid Ben Khalfallah.
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