Eric Feferberg, AFP | French writer Éric Vuillard (C) after being awarded with the Prix Goncourt for "L'Ordre du Jour" on November 6, 2017, at the restaurant Drouant in Paris.

France's top literary prize has been awarded to a novel that portrays the Nazis as the product of big business interests — including businesses that remain major industrial players today.

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Eric Vuillard's "L'Ordre du Jour," or "The Agenda," was awarded the Goncourt Prize on Monday in a Paris cafe, part of a long-running tradition.

EN NW GRAB Villeminot on Goncourt winner 06112017 13:12

The choice prompted criticism from some quarters because the book's publisher, Actes Sud, was co-founded by French Culture Minister Francoise Nyssen.

The publisher describes the book as an investigation of the backstage of the Nazi phenomenon that asks "what if the foundation for the first (Nazi) exploits was found in wheeling and dealing, in vulgar combinations of interests?"

Éric Vuillard, un auteur exceptionnel avec une œuvre riche et dense. #Goncourt pic.twitter.com/Gjvyz7sB01 Art, culture & droit (@Exculturae) November 6, 2017

Last year's winner of the Goncourt, Leila Slimani, is expected to be named to the French government later Monday.

(AP)

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