WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama welcomes French President Francois Hollande to the White House on Tuesday for an awkwardly timed state dinner, coming on the heels of Hollande’s recent and very public split from Valerie Trierweiler, his longtime partner and de facto first lady. Here are five things to know about the dinner:
— COMING STAG: Hollande came to Washington without a female companion, despite French media reports that he had been having an affair with a French actress. Coming solo on a state visit is not unheard of. Then-Chinese President Hu Jintao, who is married, came by himself on his 2011 state visit. In 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy, who preceded Hollande in office, traveled alone on his first visit to the U.S. as the leader of France. Sarkozy dined at the White House with then-President George W. Bush, but it was not a state dinner.
