Brussels, 02/12/2004 (Agence Europe) - Although the definitive results of the referendum of French Socialist Party (PS) on the European constitution is still awaited, it appears that the "yes" vote is above 55% of the vote (with a turnout of at least 80% party members), leaders of several political groups at the European Parliament welcomed on Thursday the acceptance of the constitution, especially from the other parts of the Socialist camp. Poul Nyrup Rasmussen MEP and president of the Party of European Socialists (PES), affirmed in a press statement that this was a victory for "not just French Socialists but also for us as European socialists". He considered this vote as not simply an internal affair of the PS. The former Danish prime minister declared that, "for French socialists this is a vital step towards regaining power…Europe needs the French socialists in the Elysée". President of the Socialist group at the EP, Martin Schulz said after the vote that, "There can no longer be any doubts as to the attitude of the French Socialist Party" on the European constitution. Daniel Cohn-Bendit, the co-president of the Greens/EFA said that after this success of the "yes" vote, Socialists and Greens could in the future propose a credible alternative to the political policy of the right and Nicolas Sarkozy. In a press statement, Alain Lamassoure at the EPP-ED and speaking on behalf of French UMP MEPs welcomed the "good news" for the European cause and for France's ability to marry its century with that of participatory democracy.