Obama to visit Thomas Jefferson's estate with French president

U.S. President Barack Obama will take his French counterpart Francois Hollande for a tour of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello plantation next Monday to highlight the "historic partnership" between their countries, the White House said on Tuesday. The White House described the tour outside Charlottesville, Virginia as part of Hollande's state visit, saying Washington and Paris have been allies and friends "since the time of our founding fathers." It said Jefferson's estate "reflects" his affection for the people of France as well as the "long-standing relations" between the United States and France. After his wife's death in 1782, Jefferson left Monticello in 1784 to serve as U.S. minister to France until 1789. He became first U.S. secretary of state in 1790 and the third American president in 1801.