Lyon got their bid for a seventh successive Ligue 1 title back on track with a 2-1 victory over 10-man Strasbourg on Saturday.
Les Gones had seen their lead cut to just four points by nearest challengers Bordeaux following a defeat and a draw in their last two league matches.
They suffered another scare against Strasbourg, who took the lead in the 22nd minute through Wason Renteria.
But the dismissal of Eric Mouloungui on the stroke of half-time turned the match as Mathieu Bodmer and Fabio Grosso netted in six second-half minutes to secure the points.
Lyon are now seven points above Bordeaux, who travel to Toulouse on Sunday, while Strasbourg are three points adrift of safety.
Nancy climbed up to third after their 1-1 draw with Le Mans. Anthony Le Tallec had given the visitors the lead after 59 minutes but Marc-Antoine Fortune restored parity nine minutes later for Nancy.
St Etienne kept up their push for a UEFA Cup place with a 1-0 victory over Lorient courtesy of Christophe Jallet's 52nd-minute own goal.
They remain fifth, five points behind Marseille - who face Lille on Sunday - and two ahead of Rennes after they also won 1-0.
Sylvain Wiltord scored their decider against Valenciennes.
At the other end of the table, the alarm bells continue to ring for Paris St Germain, who suffered a 3-0 loss at the hands of Caen.
Second-half goals from Anthony Deroin, Reynald Lemaitre and Yoan Gouffran left PSG facing their 15th defeat of the season.
They are now three points adrift of safety after Lens were 3-2 winners over Sochaux.
Mevlut Erding had fired Sochaux back on level terms following Adama Coulibaly's opener, but two goals for Aruna Dindane gave Lens the advantage once more before Jeremie Brechet grabbed a late goal for the visitors.
Also on Saturday, already-relegated Metz battled for a goalless draw at Auxerre while nine-man Monaco held on for a 2-0 success over local rivals Nice.
Camel Meriem and Sergio Almiron scored for the principality club, who also had Adriano and Nikola Pokrivac sent off.
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