Le Havre injected the smallest drop of hope into their survival bid with a 2-1 win over Sochaux on Sunday.
They remain rock bottom of Ligue 1 but are now eight points adrift of Sunday’s opponents after a victory that came after they had fallen behind.
Jacques Faty gave Sochaux the lead 11 minutes in but their superiority lasted for no more than four minutes, at which point Amadou Alassane equalised.
Anin (52) gave Le Havre a lead which they managed to preserve, in part thanks to the dismissal of Nicolas Maurice-Belay with 15 minutes remaining.
St Etienne did their own hopes of staying up the power of good with a 2-1 win at home to Nantes.
Ivan Klasnic (6) had given the visitors the lead but Ilan Dell’igna equalised from the penalty spot four minutes later before slotting in a winner before half-time.
Elsewhere, Rennes are sixth after a 2-0 win at home to Auxerre that came courtesy of goals from former Fulham defender Carlos Bocanegra (8) and Jimmy Briand (35).