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Olympique Marseille will secure the Ligue 1 title later on Wednesday if they beat Stade Rennes after rivals AJ Auxerre lost 2-1 at Olympique Lyon.
Marseille have 72 points with three games to play. Lille, who have two games remaining, moved up to second on 67 points after a 2-0 win at Toulouse.
Miralem Pjanic boosted Lyon's hopes of playing in next season's Champions League with a late goal against Auxerre, who are third, also on 67 points.
Lyon, who grabbed all three points when Bosnia midfielder Pjanic netted with three minutes left, stayed fourth on 65 points but they have a game in hand.
Second from bottom Boulogne, who lost 1-0 against St Etienne, and 18th-placed Le Mans, beaten 3-2 at Nancy, were relegated.
Girondins Bordeaux dropped to sixth following a 1-1 draw at Nice that dashed their hopes of playing in the Champions League next season.
The 2009 French champions trail Lille and Auxerre by six points.
The top two teams in Ligue 1 qualify for the Champions League while the third-placed side go into the playoff.
Auxerre took the lead at Lyon's Stade Gerland when striker Ireneusz Jelen intercepted an Anthony Reveillere back pass to dribble past keeper Hugo Lloris before netting into the empty goal in the 15th minute.
Lyon levelled on the stroke of halftime, striker Lisandro Lopez converted a penalty after Aly Cissokho was brought down by Benoit Pedretti.
Kim Kallstrom's volley smashed against the right post in the second half before Lyon won it when Pjanic pounced from close range to end Auxerre's 12-match unbeaten run.
"It's exhausting. We completely missed the first half, we just offered them that first goal," Lyon coach Claude Puel told French TV channel Canal Plus.
"We were much better in the second half but they remained dangerous until the end."
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Justin Palmer; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
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