Papic was presented with the award by festival president Serge Losique at a ceremony in a packed Cinema Parisien 2 on Wednesday evening.
Losique said he considered Papic one of Europe's best film auters and added that he was proud that he had become acquainted with Papic's work at the Berlin festival where he saw his 1974 film "Acting Hamlet in the Village of Mrdusa Donja".
Papic is the first director from Croatia and Central Europe to receive such a high award. This year the Grand Prix prize also went to French actress Isabelle Adjani and Greek director Theo Angelopoulos.