Lyon moved back into the French league title race by beating Lens 3-0 after second-place Marseille had drawn 2-2 against Toulouse on Sunday, one day after leader Lille lost at Monaco.
An own goal from Lens defender Henri Bedimo in the 55th minute and headers from winger Jimmy Briand in the 61st and Argentine forward Lisandro Lopez in injury time helped Lyon leapfrog Rennes into third place, five points behind Lille.
Marseille needed an 84th-minute equalizer from Andre-Pierre Gignac to trim Lille's lead at the top to three points. However, the team missed a chance to narrow the gap even further after Lille's 1-0 defeat at Monaco on Saturday.
"It's important for us to win at this moment of the season," Marseille coach Didier Deschamps said. "We made some mistakes, so we'll have to be satisfied with this point. Taking one point is a lesser evil."
Meanwhile, Nice drew 1-1 with sixth-place Montpellier.
Also Saturday, it was: Caen 1, Paris Saint-Germain 2; Brest 2, Rennes 0; Auxerre 2, Saint-Etienne 2; Bordeaux 0, Arles-Avignon 0; Lorient 1, Sochaux 1; and Valenciennes 1, Nancy 1.
Loic Remy notched his 10th goal this season to open the scoring for Marseille in the 30th. Toulouse goalkeeper Matthieu Valverde saved a header from Remy but the France international followed up to knock the ball home.
Daniel Braaten equalized on the stroke of halftime. The Norway forward beat the offside trap to collect a pass from Franck Tabanou and slip the ball under Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda.
Argentine defender Mauro Cetto gave mid-table Toulouse a 2-1 lead in the 61st by heading in a free kick by Paulo Machado.
But Remy charged down the left flank to cut the ball back for Gignac's late equalizer.
"We had the mental strength to rally for 2-2," Gignac said. "But we need to be able to hold on to a win when we lead 1-0, especially since we are fighting for the title."
In Montpellier, forward Geoffrey Dernis got the better of Nice defender Renato Civelli before finding the net from a tight angle in the 44th.
Montpellier missed a chance to double the lead in the 68th. John Utaka failed to convert a penalty, hitting both posts, after Nice defender Drissa Diakite had fouled Souleymane Diawara.
Nice leveled in the 73rd with an own goal by Montpellier goalkeeper Geoffrey Jourdren, who spilled the ball into his own net after trying to claim a cross from Nice defender Francois Clerc.
"The penalty was the turning point of the match," Montpellier coach Rene Girard said. "I think it was game over if we had converted it. When you don't take your chances, you often pay for it. It's a bit stupid to get caught in a match like this. We lack the maturity to handle such narrow leads."
