President Francois Hollande begins a three-day visit to the United States on Monday, hoping to leave scandal behind as he seeks to shore up business ties and revive France's stagnant economy.
Deeply unpopular at home and fresh from a much-publicised split with longtime girlfriend Valerie Trierweiler, Hollande will be hosted for a state dinner and talks with President Barack Obama before jetting to California to meet tech leaders.
Sources in the Elysee say the trip will highlight the "excellent working relationship" between the US and France, but Hollande will also raise a few "irritants", including concerns over mass US spying in Europe.
Hollande and Obama are expected to discuss the war in Syria, Iran's nuclear programme, Ukraine's political crisis and security concerns in Africa.
France has played a leading role in African security since Hollande took office in 2012, sending troops to fight Islamist rebels in Mali and to stem unrest in the Central African Republic.
But much of the focus is expected to be on economic questions.
Hollande, whose approval ratings are the lowest of any modern French leader, is under intense pressure to revitalise the French economy and reduce an unemployment rate that is at a 15-year high.
After a red-carpet welcome at Andrews Air Force base on Monday, Hollande will attend a state dinner with Obama and First Lady Michelle, which French officials said was to take place "as planned" despite Hollande's personal woes.
The invitation had initially been made to both Hollande and Trierweiler, but the president will be attending alone after his split with the de facto French First Lady last month.
Hollande announced his separation from Trierweiler after revelations of an affair with Julie Gayet, an actress nearly 20 years his junior.
Paris and Washington have not always seen eye-to-eye, most famously when France opposed the Iraq war a decade ago, and this is the first full state visit by a French leader since 1996.
Some tricky issues are expected to come up, including the revelations of widespread spying by the US National Security Agency in Europe and eavesdropping on senior officials like German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
