Christian Kinkela scored a last-minute winner as Ajaccio climbed out of the Ligue 1 relegation zone with a 2-1 victory at Valenciennes.
Marooned at the bottom of the table following their summer promotion, an immediate return to Ligue 2 looked a certainty for Olivier Pantaloni's men ahead of the winter break.
But this fourth straight win - and their fifth game without defeat - has seen them reach 21 points and climb to 15th in the table, putting them ahead of their opponents.
Eduardo scored their first goal after six minutes but, when Vincent Aboubakar levelled and Ajaccio had Paul Lasne sent off, a defeat looked a stark possibility.
But Kinkela had other ideas, scoring in injury time to give his side a vital three points.
Benoit Cheyrou hit the winner as Marseille came from a goal down to win 2-1 at Rennes.
Tongo Hamed Doumbia had put Rennes ahead (14), but Onyekachi Apam put through his own goal a minute before the break.
That set the stage for Cheyrou to score with 13 minutes left, putting Marseille up into fifth and ahead of their hosts.
Elsewhere, Evian were left to rue Yannick Sagbo's penalty miss as they played out a goalless draw with Bordeaux.
Sagbo's spot-kick was saved by Cedric Carrasso midway through the second half in the game's key moment as both sides struggled to create chances.
Bordeaux's scoring deficiencies were exposed again as they remained four points ahead of their opponents and closer to the relegation zone than the Europa League.
