Ogier could only strike back once in SS3, albeit by less than a second over Meeke, but the two remain evenly matched with six stages to go as both drivers seek their second wins of the season in their respective Fiesta and C3 entries.
Behind them, Thierry Neuville held a lonely third in the best of the three Hyundais, adrift of the leading pair but now armed with a half-minute advantage back to the chasing pack after his closest rival Ott Tanak retired on SS3 when he slid into a ditch.
The Estonian had been running just outside the podium positions prior to the error – which left him with no damage but unable to get going again -, with Craig Breen, Dani Sordo and Jari-Matti Latvala the beneficiaries as they rise to fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.
Though the closely-matched trio remain split by just eight seconds, it represents a two-spot rise over the course of the afternoon for Citroen’s Breen after a quicker time through the Plage du Liamone SS4 test took him past Sordo too.
Hayden Paddon also remains on the cusp of the lead tussle in seventh, but has an 18secs bridge to Toyota’s Latvala up ahead of him, while Stephane Lefebvre runs more than 2mins off the leaders in a lonely eighth.
Elsewhere, Elfyn Evans continued to haemorrhage time in the DMACK Ford due to technical issues, the Welshman now six minutes down and fighting on the fringes of the top 15.
In the WRC2 class, Andrea Mikkelsen maintained his lead over now Teemu Suninen, after his earlier closest rival Eric Camilli retired in SS3 after striking a bridge. The Norwegian holds a plus-minute lead over his rivals.