Yoan Gouffran grabbed a late winner as Bordeaux denied Toulouse the chance to claim a share of the Ligue 1 leadership after a 1-0 win.
Gouffran settled a low-key La Garonne derby with a smart finish three minutes from time against a Toulouse side which offered little going forward.
The visitors would have moved level on 22 points with Paris St Germain and Marseille with a win but that never seemed likely as they turned in a limp display which would have infuriated coach Alain Casanova.
An evenly matched Ligue 1 clash between Troyes and Montpellier ended with a fitting 1-1 draw at Stade de l'Aube.
The visiting side took the lead after 19 minutes when Younes Belhanda put the finishing touch to a fine passing move but second-bottom Troyes levelled four minutes before the break via Fabien Camus.
Both sides had chances to take all three points in the second period but neither can feel aggrieved at sharing the spoils.
Valenciennes continued their free-scoring ways to move up to fourth with a convincing 3-1 victory over Sochaux.
Foued Kadir's 11th-minute strike was followed by a brace from Daniel Pujol that took Valenciennes to 23 goals for the season, and to within four points of the summit.
Sebastien Roudet registered for Sochaux but only after they had gone 3-0 down and the visitors remain rooted in the bottom three.
Lille stretched their unbeaten Ligue 1 run to four matches with a 2-0 victory at struggling Evian.
Nolan Roux and Florent Balmont were on target for the visitors, who are now up to seventh in the table after winning three of their last four matches.
Eric Bautheac scored an 81st-minute winner as Nice pulled away from Ligue 1's bottom three with only their second win of the season as they beat Nancy 2-1.
Bautheac's corner had set up the opener for Mahamane Traore, but Salif Sane equalised on the stroke of half-time.
It appeared for a long time as though Nice were destined for their seventh draw in 11 league games this season but Bautheac had other ideas.
A goal late in the first half from Mevlut Erding saw Rennes claim their fourth win of the season and leapfrog 10-man Reims.
However, the visitors deserve some credit for conceding a solitary goal given they had to play for 76 minutes with 10 men following the sending off of Pape N'Diaye Soure for a nasty challenge on Jonathan Pitroipa.
With just five minutes to go until half time, the hosts went ahead when Erding headed home.
