Western Europe's recent cold snap played havoc with the French footballing fixtures over the weekend, leading to Saturday's to the postponement of Saint-Etienne's clash with Lorient and Sunday's Caen-Auxerre and Sochaux-Lille.

Stylish PSG fight back

However, the glacial conditions didn't prevent Paris Saint-Germain from maintaining their three-point lead atop the table on Saturday, Carlo Ancelotti's men setting the Parc des Princes on fire with a rousing 3-1 win over Evian after going into the break a goal down.

"It was a difficult match," conceded Ancelotti after his fifth consecutive win in all competitions - a club record - since taking the reins in early January. "In the first half, Evian played well and created a good few problems for us. But even when you don't play well you must win. I liked our second-half reaction, and the work put in by the players."

Cédric Cambon's opportunistic strike just before half-time belied PSG's domination of the opening term as new signings Thiago Motta and Maxwell shone, but Brazilian winger Nene restored parity soon after the resumption of play with a cool finish on the end of a neat one-two with France international Jérémy Ménez (47') and handed the hosts the lead when he converted from the spot after Ménez - who had earlier hit the post - had been dragged down in the area (78').

Fellow Bleu Kévin Gamerio put the result beyond doubt with a minute to go when he tapped in Nene's deflected shot, and the win sees PSG maintain their three-point cushion over second-placed Montpellier, who continue to match the capital club blow for blow.

Montpellier keep pace

René Girard's men also encountered resolute opposition on their trip to Brest, finding it tough to convert their dominance into goals, but a stroke of luck saw Henri Bedimo's cross deflect into the net off Geoffrey Dernis (40'). Geoffrey Jourdren proved his team's salvation with some impressive work between the sticks to deny Brest a way back into the game, while Brest Steeve Elana returned the favour at the other end to keep the margin to a minimum.

Olympico thriller yields no advantage

With third-placed Lille's trip to Sochaux called off, both Marseille and Lyon had the chance to sneak into the top three as they faced off in the 'Olympico' at a Stade Vélodrome spared the worst of the winter conditions, but neither side took advantage as the dramatic match ended in a 2-2 draw to leave the sides locked in fifth and fourth place respectively.

"This wasn't the greatest result for us even though we've taken seven from a possible nine points against three direct rivals [Lille, Rennes, Lyon]," said OM boss Didier Deschamps, who saw his side's march up the table come to a halt. "We're in the thick of it now, and we absolutely have to stay on this positive dynamic."

Marseille looked primed to stretch their winning run in the league to five matches as they a two-goal lead thanks to Benoît Cheyrou (16') and Brandao (34'), but OL struck back through Bafétimbi Gomis (36') and an own-goal from Souleymane Diawara (45') clinch a point and avoid defeat against a top-five team for the first time this season.

Meanwhile Rennes missed the chance to edge closer to chasing pack after last week's loss to Marseille as they were held to a 0-0 draw on the frozen synthetic pitch of Nancy's Stade Marcel-Picot, a result that sees the Lorraine club inch another point away from the drop zone to 14^th.

Obraniak screamer as Bordeaux confirm form

Toulouse could have leap-frogged Rennes with a win in Bordeaux, but Francis Gillot's men, still undefeated in all competitions in 2012, gave them a cold welcome. Brazilian Jussie opened the scoring in the first minute before newly signed ex-Lille midfielder Ludovic Obraniak marked his home debut with a spectacular curling free kick (40') to clinch the result against a TFC side reduced to ten men for the second half after Moussa Sissoko saw red (43').

While Bordeaux continued their impressive home form - their fifth-straight league win at the Stade Chaban-Delmas - Valenciennes finally managed to notch a victory away from the Stade du Hainaut as they trumped Dijon 2-1. Grégory Thil's injury-time reply was cold comfort for the Burgundy club after Renaud Cohade (3') and Gaël Danic (43') had done the damage.

Like OM, Ajaccio had won their previous four league outings - a club record in France's top flight - but also like OM, they were held to a draw, Nice's Portuguese youngster Esmaël Gonçalves rescuing a point - and pulling his side from the bottom of the table to 18^th - five minutes from time after Brazilian Eduardo had scored his third in as many matches since signing from Lens (57', pen).

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