George Washington's estate has been meeting place for many dignitaries
Washington – When French President Nicolas Sarkozy comes to Washington November 6, President Bush will host the French leader at historic Mount Vernon, the Virginia estate of George Washington.
It will be the first time in six years that a French president has made an official visit to the United States, and the stage for the meeting is symbolic because it was at Mount Vernon that the French hero of the American War of Independence, the Marquis de Lafayette, established a strong and lasting relationship with America’s first president.
Lafayette visited Mount Vernon several times between 1784 and 1825, but the French connection to the new nation had been strong since the young aristocrat joined General Washington’s army to help lead America’s revolutionary fight against the British. The marquis named his son George Washington Lafayette.
Today Mount Vernon continues to be a significant meeting place for U.S. presidents and visiting dignitaries. President Bush chose Mount Vernon as the place to hold meetings with Sarkozy to reaffirm the “deep historical bonds” shared by the two countries, according to the White House.
Although Sarkozy visited the president at the Bush family home in Maine this summer, this will be his first visit to Washington since taking office in May. After dinner at the White House on November 6, the two leaders will travel to Mount Vernon November 7 to discuss working together to strengthen security and democracy in Afghanistan and prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Talks also are scheduled to include Middle East peace efforts, ending the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan and fostering democratic change in Burma.
“We are most definitely entering a dynamic new era in U.S.-France relations, one that is full of potential and positive energy,” said R. Nicholas Burns, U.S. under secretary for political affairs, in remarks in Paris on October 31. “From a global perspective, we have no more vital ally on the great issues of our time – climate change, Darfur, Burma, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq – than France.”
Washington – When French President Nicolas Sarkozy comes to Washington November 6, President Bush will host the French leader at historic Mount Vernon, the Virginia estate of George Washington.
It will be the first time in six years that a French president has made an official visit to the United States, and the stage for the meeting is symbolic because it was at Mount Vernon that the French hero of the American War of Independence, the Marquis de Lafayette, established a strong and lasting relationship with America’s first president.
Lafayette visited Mount Vernon several times between 1784 and 1825, but the French connection to the new nation had been strong since the young aristocrat joined General Washington’s army to help lead America’s revolutionary fight against the British. The marquis named his son George Washington Lafayette.
Today Mount Vernon continues to be a significant meeting place for U.S. presidents and visiting dignitaries. President Bush chose Mount Vernon as the place to hold meetings with Sarkozy to reaffirm the “deep historical bonds” shared by the two countries, according to the White House.
Although Sarkozy visited the president at the Bush family home in Maine this summer, this will be his first visit to Washington since taking office in May. After dinner at the White House on November 6, the two leaders will travel to Mount Vernon November 7 to discuss working together to strengthen security and democracy in Afghanistan and prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Talks also are scheduled to include Middle East peace efforts, ending the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan and fostering democratic change in Burma.
“We are most definitely entering a dynamic new era in U.S.-France relations, one that is full of potential and positive energy,” said R. Nicholas Burns, U.S. under secretary for political affairs, in remarks in Paris on October 31. “From a global perspective, we have no more vital ally on the great issues of our time – climate change, Darfur, Burma, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq – than France.”
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