Celebrating nearly 250 years of U.S. - French relations, Trump will organize a glitzy State Dinner at White House to host President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday with 150 selected guests without Democratic Lawmakers

The visit also offers Macron his first Oval Office meeting and a joint White House news conference with Trump. There's also a State Department lunch hosted by Vice President Mike Pence before Macron and his wife arrive for the state dinner.

The Trump-Macron relationship appeared to get off to a bumpy start with a white-knuckler of a handshake when the political novices met for the first time at a NATO summit in Brussels last May. But Macron likely sealed the bond after Trump accepted his invitation to attend the annual Bastille Day military parade in the center of Paris in July. Macron and his wife also took Trump and the first lady on a tour of Napoleon's tomb and whisked them up into the Eiffel Tower for dinner overlooking the City of Light. The experience led Trump to order up a military parade for downtown Washington later this year.

But the two part company on some significant issues, including the Paris climate accord, which Trump withdrew the U.S. from last year, and the Iran-nuclear deal, another multinational agreement that Trump is itching to pull out of. The president did successfully rally Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May, with whom Trump has sparred, to mount a joint military operation against Syria in response to an apparent chemical attack this month that killed Syrian civilians. Macron still worries about Trump's desire to remove U.S. troops from Syria.

An art lover who speaks good English, Macron is known to watch what he eats. Yet he told reporters at an agricultural fair in Paris in February that "I drink wine at lunch and dinner."

Discerning his tastes, including likes and dislikes, even allergies, is one of the first things the White House tries to pin down for all guests, said Bernard.

"You're really focused on making sure the guest feels special," he said.

Mrs. Trump's social secretary, Rickie Niceta, came aboard last year after two decades of event planning for a caterer whose clients included the White House, the State Department and several embassies, in addition to working on the past five presidential inaugurations, including Trump's. The first lady, who speaks French, also has experienced hands running the kitchen, pastry shop and florist's lair. All three women helped execute more than a dozen state dinners for Obama.

Trump owns hotels, including one near the White House, and knows about good hospitality.

Bernard recalled that, just as invitations were about to go out for the 2014 dinner for then-French President Francois Hollande, news broke that Hollande and his longtime girlfriend had abruptly split. Mrs. Obama's staff anxiously sought clarity on whether Hollande would bring another date.

He didn't, and Bernard dealt with the awkwardness of the situation by seating Hollande between the two Obamas.
___

Associated Press writer Sylvie Corbet in Paris and AP News Researcher Randy Herschaft in New York contributed to this report.

oOo