The Niépce Prize has been awarded annually since 1955 to a professional photographer who has lived and worked in France for over 3 years and is younger than 50 years (previously 45 years) of age. It was introduced in honour of Joseph Nicéphore Nièpce by Albert Plécy for the l'Association Gens d'Images.
References
Niépce Prize Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA