Lisandro Lopez and strike partner Bafetimbi Gomis scored a goal each Sunday as Lyon beat Toulouse 2-0 at home to move up to third place and two points behind French leader Lille.
Lopez had a bit of luck opening the scoring in the fifth minute. Toulouse goalkeeper Matthieu Valverde saved a shot from winger Michel Bastos and the loose ball popped up to give Lopez an easy header and his fourth goal in three games.
Gomis made it 2-0 in the 35th when he ran onto Lopez's pass and finished with a low shot into the bottom right corner.
Also, Saint-Etienne won 2-0 at struggling Monaco with goals from veteran midfielder Laurent Battles and winger Bakary Sako.
After 17 rounds of matches, Lille has 31 points. Paris Saint-Germain has 30 and Lyon 29.
Rennes missed the chance to overtake Lyon after drawing 0-0 at Bordeaux, and stays one point behind Lyon in fourth plaace. Defending champion Marseille is fifth with 27 in a wide-open title race.
The standings could be shaken up again next weekend, with Lyon going to Stade Velodrome to play Marseille.
"We will go to Marseille to win, we're on a run of 10 games unbeaten (in the league)," Lyon midfielder Kim Kallstrom said.
Seven-time former champion Lyon has responded well after a dreadful start to the season, dropping to 18th place after eight rounds, when it was 10 points off the lead and most fans were calling for coach Claude Puel's sacking.
Puel has since turned the situation around, and he would have gained further satisfaction that his team kept a clean sheet after conceding 31 goals in its 23 previous games this season.
"We sorted out our mistakes in defense," Puel said. "We played a complete match tonight."
Battles put Saint-Etienne ahead in the 19th, when Moustapha Bayal's long pass was diverted by Saint-Etienne forward Emmanuel Riviere into Battles' path, and he ran through to shoot powerfully past goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier.
Sako wrapped up the win in the 78th with a free kick for only his second goal of the season.
Lille needed an injury-time goal from Brazilian striker Tulio De Melo to win 1-0 at last-place Arles-Avignon on Saturday.
In Saturday's other games, it was: Valenciennes 1, Paris Saint-Germain 2; Brest 0, Montpellier 0; Nancy 1, Sochaux 0; Lorient 3, Lens 0; Caen 0, Nice 0, and Auxerre 1, Marseille 1.
