UPDATE 1-Benetton family buys 2 pct stake in Club Med

* Benetton buys 2 percent in Club Med

* Club Med shares close up 6.7 percent

(Updates with confirmation of Benetton purchase)

By Noelle Mennella and Sudip Kar-Gupta

PARIS, June 19 (Reuters) - Holiday resort group Club Med (CMIP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), which is trying to fend off the attentions of flamboyant French businessman Bernard Tapie, found an ally in the form of Italy's Benetton retail family on Friday.

The French company said the Benetton family (BNG.MI: Quote, Profile, Research) had bought a 2 percent stake in the firm, whose recent losses have made it vulnerable to Tapie's public attacks on Club Med's management and strategy.

"The Benetton family is an industrial partner and an ally of Club Med," a Club Med spokesman told Reuters.

Club Med's tussle with Tapie has captivated much of France due to the personalities involved.

In one corner is Tapie, a former disgraced politician, soccer boss and occasional pop star who has rehabilitated himself as a TV celebrity. In the other stands Club Med chief Henri Giscard d'Estaing -- the son of former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing.