Razak Boukari put Rennes ahead with a powerful strike into the top corner in the 14th minute. Victor Hugo Montano added a second goal in the 70th, beating the offside trap to collect a pass from Jerome Leroy and score with a low shot.
Rennes earned its fourth straight win to top the standings, one point clear of Lille which hosts fourth-place Lyon on Sunday.
Also on Saturday, it was: Sochaux 0, Montpellier 0; Saint-Etienne 0, Nice 2; Valenciennes 0, Lorient 0; Arles-Avignon 1, Brest 1; Monaco 2, Caen 2.
Bordeaux played Auxerre late Saturday.
In a tight encounter, Sochaux was down to 10 men in the 16th when Ideye Brown was red-carded for headbutting Montpellier defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa.
Montpellier center back Emir Spahic was also ejected in the 61st for dissent toward the referee.
Nice fullback Kafoumba Coulibaly stunned Saint-Etienne goalkeeper Jeremie Janot in the 55th. Winger Anthony Mounier made it 2-0 on a counterattack in the 85th.
In Avignon, Kamel Ghilas beat goalkeeper Steve Elana to put the hosts ahead in the 37th.
Brest forward Larsen Toure equalized from close range in the 49th off a cross from Benoit Lesoimier.
In Monaco, South Korea striker Park Chu-young converted a penalty kick in the 35th after Caen defender Thomas Heurtaux handled the ball inside the area.
Park doubled the lead in the 62nd with a drive from the edge of the box.
But Youssef El-Arabi pulled one back for Caen in the 67th, notching his 12th goal this season with a header.
Caen substitute Yohan Mollo leveled with a free kick in the 72nd.
The visitors salvaged the draw although Caen defender Jeremy Sorbon was dismissed in the 83rd after receiving a second yellow card.
On Sunday, Marseille visits Nancy and Paris Saint-Germain faces Toulouse.
