LEFT parties in France accused  the French President of exercising a “royal veto” today after he refused to appoint a prime minister from the left-wing coalition that gained most seats in last weekend’s National Assembly election.

President Emmanuel Macron has called on the country’s political parties to build a “republican” majority at the National Assembly before he announces a new prime minister.

Though no party won a majority in Sunday’s election, the left-wing New Popular Front (NPF) alliance of communists, socialists and Greens topped the poll with 193 seats in the 577-strong National Assembly.