Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc has a shot at the title in his first season, Lyon's Alain Perrin can clinch the club's first ever league and cup double - yet could be fired - while Paris Saint-Germain can win both domestic cups and still be relegated.
"There are a lot of nerves," Blanc said. "All the teams are playing for something."
Lyon is chasing its seventh consecutive title, but Bordeaux's relentless pursuit has seen Blanc trim Perrin's lead from nine points to just two points over the last six rounds.
If Bordeaux loses at home to Sochaux and Lyon beats visiting Nancy on Saturday then the title is Perrin's.
But defeat for Lyon and a win for Bordeaux means Blanc would take a one-point lead heading into the final round.
"We will play our hand right until the end," Blanc, a former France defender, told RMC radio.
At the same stage last season, Lyon had a 20-point lead over Marseille.
Not since Lyon overtook Lens on the final day in the 2001-2002 season has the French league been so close. Since then it has usually been a case of who finishes second, with only Monaco mounting a title threat in the 2003-2004 season.
"I am even calmer because it's easier to prepare a match when there is so much at stake," Perrin said.
Perrin's team has been giving away equalizing goals in the final seconds, while Bordeaux has been scoring them.
"Bordeaux have been a bit (lucky) recently," Perrin said.
Even though Lyon remains on course for a double - it plays PSG in the May 24 French Cup final - Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas is thinking about a new coach for next season.
Some of the players, including goalkeeper Gregory Coupet and winger Hatem Ben Arfa, see Perrin as being too authoritarian.
Blanc, a World Cup and European Championship winner with France, has full backing from his players.
When Pierre Ducasse scored in the final seconds of last weekend's 2-1 win at Marseille, the midfielder sprinted to the bench and several players followed him to mob Blanc.
His decision to bring on the 20-year-old Ducasse in the 34th minute for veteran playmaker Johan Micoud was a risky move, but it worked.
In contrast, the atmosphere was icy cold in Lyon's dressing room after the 0-0 draw at Nice.
Aulas looked stern-faced and stood apart from Perrin, who had his arms folded and looked the other way.
Below the title contenders, the stakes are equally high, with only two points separating third-place Nancy and No. 4 Marseille in their race for the final Champions League spot.
Below them, UEFA Cup hopefuls Saint-Etienne, Lille and Rennes face relegation-threatened PSG, Lens and Toulouse.
PSG is in 18th place, Lens is in 17th and Toulouse in 16th - all have 39 points.
Saint-Etienne has 54 points, Lille has 53 and Rennes has 52.
PSG hosts fifth-place Saint-Etienne; No. 6 Lille faces Lens; and No. 7 Rennes hosts Toulouse.
Despite its league struggle, PSG remains on course for a domestic cup double after winning the League Cup in March.
"We have to take things as they come," Le Guen said.
Pauleta, who plays his last home game for the club, is determined to sign off with a win.
"It would be the best way for me to say goodbye," the former Portugal forward said.
PSG allowed a last-minute equalizer in a 1-1 draw at Toulouse, where tempers frayed.
Defender Bernard Mendy had to be pulled back from confronting Toulouse's assistant coach Alain Casanova, there was pushing and shoving in the tunnel at halftime, and Le Guen remonstrated with Toulouse boss Elie Baup.
Le Guen and Baup share four league titles between them - which is four more than Blanc and Perrin have.
Baup was Bordeaux's coach in 1999, and Le Guen helped Lyon to three straight crowns before leaving in May 2005.
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