Lille (16-2-6) restored its two-point lead over Lyon (15-2-7). Third-place Paris Saint-Germain (16-5-3), which blanked rival Marseille 2-0 later Sunday, is another one point back.
Kylian Mbappe and Mauro Icardi scored in the first half for PSG. Marseille, who have lost four of their last five games, saw Dimitri Payet sent off in the last minute.
In other action Sunday, Aleksandr Golovin scored a hat trick and set up the other goal as Monaco won 4-3 at Nimes for a seventh straight league win.
David opened the scoring for Lille after eight minutes against a lacklustre Nantes side that is in 18th place and has not won any of the six games since former France coach Raymond Domenech took charge.