The uninspired hosts dominated possession but never really threatened OM goalkeeper Steve Mandanda, waiting more than an hour to record their first attempt on target.
The visitors had their chances in the first half but striker Andre-Pierre Gignac lacked a cutting edge.
Lyon stayed second with 53 points from 28 games, four behind PSG who defeated bottom club Nancy on Saturday thanks to Zlatan Ibrahimovic's 23rd and 24th league goals.
"We try to follow PSG but also to move forward thinking about ourselves," Lyon's coach Remi Garde told French channel Canal Plus.
"We can't have any regrets tonight because we gave everything we could in terms of intensity, we put heart."
"We were very solid defensively, very serious. It was a battle, like a European Cup tie," Elie Baup said.
"We only need to be more efficient to score goals."
The game was nothing like the teams' previous encounters, which had created expectations with an average of 4.4 goals in the last eight matches between the sides.
Marseille had the first chance after 10 minutes but Gignac's curling shoot from the left went narrowly wide. He wasted two more opportunities in the first half while Lyon were labouring to even come close to the area.
Lyon pushed hard for a goal but Marseille went closer to breaking the deadlock five minutes later with from Andre Ayew's header following a corner.
In the day's early kick-off, Nice proved far more efficient as 20-year-old Stephane Bahoken celebrated his maiden Ligue 1 start with two goals to boost his side's Champions League bid.
"Obviously, it's been a great reaction after [last weekend's 4-0 loss at] Saint-Etienne. It was important to show that it was just a mishap," Nice's coach Claude Puel told reporters.
"Before the game, I never thought it would have gone this way," said the forward, the latest example of Nice's successful youth policy after the 16-year-old Neal Maupay who has made 14 appea
