How to give priority to files in Apache and prohibit opening folders?

Question

Apache HTTP Server

Good afternoon.
I ran into a problem that there is a
users folder in the root
and a pages folder in which there is a users.php file and also a users folder
There is a condition

if(file_exists('pages/'.$_GET['path'].'.php')) {
  include('pages/'.$_GET['path'].'.php');
}
else {
  include('404.php');
}

But for some reason, when you enter localhost / users - it opens the folder, and does not give users.php from the pages folder.
As a result, an open folder and you can climb there anywhere after.

How to close access to folders, that if a folder opens, then do not open it, but return 404.php and prioritize files over folders when requested in the query string.