Lyon, who are on 70 points, now lead second-placed Lens by an unassailable 17 points and third-place Toulouse by 18 points.

Les Gones are also expected to break the 84-point record they share with St. Etienne as well as the 26 record wins in Ligue 1, which is held by Reims, Monaco and Nantes.

Manager Gerard Houllier, who made it two in a row for his name with Lyon, expressed his joy with the achievement despite domestic and continental cup failures this season.

"Maybe we didn't reach all our objectives this season but this sixth title is historic," the former Liverpool coach told RTL radio.

Achille Emana opened the scoring for Toulouse but Rennes responded with two goals from Jimmy Briand (penalty) and Sylvain Marveaux before Fabinho equalized for Toulouse.

Ironically, it was Houllier's former employee at Liverpool Bruno Cheyrou who netted the 87th minute winner for Rennes to complete the thrilling 3-2 contest and hand the title to his former manager.

Lyon will visit Auxerre on Sunday as they prepare for celebrating their triumph at the Stade l'Abbe-Deschamps.