The French President Francois Hollande has been honoured at a state dinner at the White House.<br /><br />Some 300 guests attended the lavish ceremony where plenty of “bonhomie” was on the menu.<br /><br />Earlier, Hollande and Barack Obama hailed the US-French alliance saying it “has never been stronger.” <br /><br />Shared sentiments they repeated during the night as they heaped praise on each other.<br /><br />“To our Friend and partner Francois Hollande, to all of our friends from France who are here today, Vive la France, God Bless America,” said Obama.<br /><br />During his toast before the meal, Hollande joked about the two countries’ affection for each other.<br /><br />“We love Americans, although we don’t always say so. And you love the French, but you’re sometimes too shy to say so,” he quipped.<br /><br />Obama lavished some praise on a favorite French import.<br /><br />“Now, it is true that we Americans have grown to love all things French – the films, the food, the wine. Especially the wine,” he said in his toast.<br /><br />The guests later listened to a performance by singer Mary J Blige.
