Clermont and Stade Francais slumped to shock French Top 14 defeats on Saturday, leaving them locked together with defending champions and new leaders Toulon.
Clermont, who had started the weekend on top, conceded a last-minute try to lose 14-12 at La Rochelle who moved off the bottom.
Stade, meanwhile, lost their first home game of the season when Oyonnax grabbed a 15-13 victory as the mid-table outsiders celebrated a second win in the capital following their 21-17 triumph over Racing Metro in November.
Saturday's results left Clermont and Stade on 51 points, the same as European champions Toulon who defeated Bayonne 24-17 on Friday.
Australian fly-half Brock James had kicked Clermont into a 12-9 lead and with the clock ticking down, it appeared to be enough.
However, La Rochelle took a quick tap penalty rather than kick for goal which could have levelled the scores and they were rewarded for their positive approach when Italian winger Malietoa Hingano sprinted away for the game's only try.
It was the second time this season that Clermont had lost a home game in the last minute -- on December 28, Lyon grabbed a try at the death for a 16-13 win.
Racing are in fourth spot after edging Lyon 13-11 thanks to a try off a spectacular 60-metre dash by full-back Brice Dulin just before the interval.
Montpellier, with former South Africa World Cup winning coach Jake White at the helm, kept their play-off hopes alive with a 34-24 win over Bordeaux.
Bordeaux squandered a losing bonus point in the closing minutes as Montpellier claimed a fourth successive home win after seeing off Toulouse twice (Top 14 and European Champions Cup) and Toulon.
Montpellier took victory the hard way, seeing first half injuries picked up by lock forward Tom Donnelly and fly-half Ben Lucas.
Scrum-half Benoit Paillaugue was then red-carded for a dangerous tackle on opposing full-back Sofiane Guitoune after just 20 minutes.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, Montpellier claimed victory with two tries from back row Akapusi Qera and Enzo Selponi, who had replaced Lucas.
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