Party vote gives France's Hollande boost, fends off rebels' challenge

France's President Francois Hollande speaks as he meets students at the economic and social council in Paris, France, May 6, 2015. REUTERS/Michel Euler/Pool

PARIS (Reuters) - Socialist party members backed French President Francois Hollande's policies in an internal party vote, boosting his chances of standing unopposed for a re-election ticket in 2017 despite months of tension over the government's economic line.

With a large part of the vote counted, a broad-brush policy statement put forward by Hollande loyalists for the party's annual congress won more than 60 percent of the vote, a party official told Reuters on Friday.