Falling last week from their 2nd place directly qualifying for the group stage, Marseille (2nd, 71 points) left no chance in Strasbourg (6th, 63 pts), beaten 4-0 in a boiling Vélodrome stadium.
Held in check at Lens (2-2), Monaco (3rd, 69 pts) gives up 2nd place and will have to pass, like last year, through the preliminary rounds.
Behind, Rennes (4th, 66 pts) got hot: led twice to Lille on a double from Timothy Weah (11th, 88th), the Red and Blacks came back to score twice, by Benjamin Bourigeaud (41st, for the 100th goal for the club this season) and Serhou Guirassy (93rd).
They were almost overtaken by a stunning Nice team (5th, 66 pts too but a lower goal difference): led 2-0 from the 18th minute in Reims, Christophe Galtier's men snatched their ticket for the League Europa Conference thanks to a hat-trick from Andy Delort in the second half (3-2).
They thus overtake on the wire the surprise Strasbourg (6th, 63 pt), which remains at the gates of its European dream.
At the bottom of the table, Saint-Etienne (18th, 32 pts) obtained a reprieve by snatching the place of play-off thanks to its draw (1-1) in Nantes.
The Greens will face Auxerre next week in an attempt to stay in the top flight.
The Monegasques stunned after their draw in Lens, May 21, 2022 FRANCOIS LO PRESTI AFP
It's a cold shower for Metz (19th, 31 pts), who had pulled out of the red zone but is definitely returning there, swept away 5-0 by PSG on a hat-trick from Kylian Mbappé (24th, 28th, 50th) and goals from Neymar and Angel Di Maria.
And there was no miracle for Bordeaux, who needed an avalanche of goals in Brest: they greeted the L1 by winning largely in Brest (4-2) but it was still far from the account .
© 2022 AFP