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 The visit to Monticello, home to America's third president, served
to showcase a relationship that stretches back to the founding of
the United States in the late 18th century, an alliance still strong
despite spats over U.S. eavesdropping and trade talks with the
European Union.
Hollande, 59, who split from his partner, Valerie Trierweiler, last
month after an affair with an actress, arrived solo for the first
state visit hosted by Obama since he won a second term in 2012.
The two leaders will get down to business on Tuesday with White
House talks, covering topics such as Iran, Syria, restive North
Africa and trade, followed by a joint news conference. A Tuesday
evening state dinner features aged rib-eye beef and American wine
and a musical performance by Mary J. Blige.
Monday was all about symbolism. Obama met Hollande at Joint Base
Andrews outside Washington shortly after the French leader arrived
from Paris, and together they flew aboard Air Force One to
Charlottesville.
At Monticello, they toured the unique home designed by Jefferson,
including its distinctive crowning portico and the Cabinet room
Jefferson used for writing, architectural drafting and scientific
observation. They saw the basement kitchen equipped with utensils he
brought back from Paris after serving as U.S. ambassador to France.
"Thomas Jefferson represents what's best in America, but as we see
as we travel through his home, what he also represents is the
incredible bond and the incredible gifts that France gave to the
United States, because he was a Francophile through and through,"
Obama told reporters.
He said the house also represents the complicated history of the
United States since "slaves helped to build this magnificent
structure.
"It's a reminder for both of us that we are in a continuous fight on
behalf of the rights of all peoples," Obama said.
Hollande noted the significant role played by a French general, the
Marquis de Lafayette, in helping George Washington defeat the
British colonial power.
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"We were allies in the time of Jefferson and Lafayette. We are still
allies today. We were friends at the time of Jefferson and Lafayette
and will remain friends forever," he said.
Today's collaboration is a far cry from the strains of a decade ago,
when France refused to join the Iraq war. But France also has made
known its unhappiness over National Security Agency spying
practices. Hollande told Time magazine that the agency's tactics
"should never have existed" and had caused "a difficult moment, not
just between France and the United States but also between Europe
and the United States."
Washington's relations with the European Union have also been
ruffled by a U.S. diplomat's secretly recorded expletive to
disparage the EU's handling of the political crisis in Ukraine.
The United States and France have cooperated in diplomacy on Syria
and Iran, but do not always agree on economic issues, such as a
U.S.-EU trade deal on which negotiations began in July.
France set several preconditions before allowing the talks to start,
insisting that the audio-visual sector, including cinema and books,
be excluded from discussions.
French tax authorities have also put U.S. Internet giant Google
under audit about accounting procedures that channel sales through
Ireland. Google rejects suggestions that this is an attempt at
tax-dodging.
(Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton;
writing by Steve Holland;
editing by Dan Grebler)
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