Caen held off Bordeaux for the entire game to grab a valuable three points in the race to beat the drop.
Nicolas Seube struck early to put the hosts in front after only two minutes.
The midfielder got into the box to meet Frederic Bulot's cross after he had supplied him down the right-hand side.
The roles were reversed after 20 minutes when Seube assisted Bulot, whose shot from an acute angle missed the target.
Bordeaux missed chances to level the scores, with the best one falling to Yoan Gouffran in the 56th minute.
The forward rose highest to meet Mathieu Chalme's cross but Alexis Thebaux made a vital save to keep his team in the lead.
Thebaux was also alert to deny Nicolas Maurice-Belay four minutes from time.
The result means that Caen are now out of the relegation zone.
