Document And Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 30, 2018	May 01, 2018
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Entity Registrant Name	GENERAL CABLE CORP /DE/
Entity Central Index Key	0000886035
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 30, 2018
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2018
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		50,729,935
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer