Toulouse gave their hopes of Ligue 1 survival a boost after a thumping 4-0 win over Bordeaux on Saturday.
With head coach Pascal Dupraz back on the sidelines after illness, the home side looked hungry from the off and took the lead after just five minutes through Wissam Ben Yedder, who doubled the lead from the penalty spot just after the break after Lamine Sane was sent off for bringing him down.
Ben Yedder passed up the chance for a hat-trick when he allowed Martin Braithwaite to take and score another penalty in the closing stages, while Oscar Trejo drilled in a fourth in the 90th minute as Toulouse closed to within seven points of 18th place and survival.
Towards the top end of the table, Nice closed the gap to second-place Monaco to five points with a 2-0 win at Montpellier, Valere Germain and Alassane Plea scoring in the second half to condemn the home side to a loss which leaves them looking nervously over their shoulders.
Gazalec Ajaccio are now level on points with 17th placed Reims and just three behind Montpellier, with Khalid Boutaib's goal midway through the second half against Caen ending their 10-game run without a win in the league and denting the visitors' hopes of a European spot.
Marseille's disappointing season showed little sign of improving as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Lorient. Mauricio Isla cancelled out Majeed Waris' opener, but Michel's side could not find a second goal to prevent a fifth successive stalemate.
Sofiane Boufal and Ibrahim Amadou scored in each half to secure a 2-1 victory for Lille away to Bastia despite a late strike from Gael Danic, while Guingamp climbed into 16th place with a 2-0 victory at home to Saint-Etienne, thanks to first-half goals from Jimmy Briand and Sloan Privat.
