Nov. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Marie NDiaye won France’s most prestigious literary award, the 106-year-old Prix Goncourt, for “Trois Femmes Puissantes,” a novel about three African women who struggle to maintain their dignity against all odds.

The winner -- who gets a check for a symbolic 10 euros ($15) and an almost certain boost in sales -- was announced to a crowd of journalists outside the Paris restaurant Drouant, where the Academie Goncourt jury meets once a month.

Ndiaye, 42, has a Senegalese father and a French mother. She defeated three other finalists with her evocation of the loosely linked stories of Norah, Fanta and Khady Demba, the “three strong women” in the title.

Published by Gallimard, the novel describes how Norah returns to Africa to visit her tyrannical father. Fanta leaves Dakar to follow her partner Rudy to France. Khady Demba, a penniless young African widow, undertakes a brutal journey to find her distant cousin Fanta.

The other finalists included Laurent Mauvignier for “Des Hommes,” or “Some Men,” (Minuit), an exploration of the horrors witnessed by three soldiers who were sent to Algeria in 1960.

Jean-Philippe Toussaint became a finalist with “La Verite sur Marie,” or “The Truth About Marie” (Minuit), the third installment of an existential trilogy that began with “Faire l’Amour,” or “Make Love.”

And Delphine de Vigan reached the shortlist with “Les Heures Souterraines,” or “The Subterranean Hours,” (JC Lattes), which explores the evils of workplace bullying in Paris and a fateful romantic encounter one May 20.

First awarded in 1903, the Prix Goncourt has honored authors such as Marcel Proust (1919), Andre Malraux (1933), Simone de Beauvoir (1954) and Marguerite Duras (1984).

To contact the reporter on the story: James Pressley in Brussels at jpressley@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 2, 2009 07:23 EST