“American Ambassador Denise Campbell Bauer honors Thomas Jefferson by planting pecan tree in Bordeaux, France – Le Figaro Bordeaux”

Traveling Thursday and Friday to Bordeaux, the first city in France to host an American consulate in 1778, Ambassador Denise Campbell Bauer must in particular pay tribute to the 3e President of the United States Thomas Jefferson, through a highly symbolic gesture.

Par
Marie-Helene Herouart

Posted on 04/28/2023 at 07:00

Le Figaro Bordeaux

At dawn this Friday, three centuries after Thomas Jefferson, the American ambassador Denise Campbell Bauer, visiting Bordeaux, will plant a pecan tree at Château Carbonnieux. A symbolic gesture in homage to the one who was then still only a revolutionary. In 1787, three years before opening a new chapter in American history by becoming the 3^e President of the United States, the Democratic Republican, wine lover and passionate about agriculture, did indeed this honor to the lords of the time. “I am very happy to plant a new pecan tree, as a sign of the resilience of Franco-American friendship, one hundred meters from the original which was felled by a storm last year.», entrusts to the Figaro Denise Campbell Bauer.

And if there remains only the trunk and a branch of the bicentenary tree which overhung the courtyard of the castle by its stature of nearly 35 meters, its descendants of centenary trees and its emblem have not weakened. Like the Statue of Liberty donated by France to Americans, the pecan tree, also known asJefferson walnut», symbolizes the friendship between the famous author of the declaration of independence of the United States and the Marquis de La Fayette, one of the fathers of the declaration of the rights of man and of the citizen. Created in 2017 to celebrate the centenary of the Americans’ entry into the war, three years after the start of the First World War, the association Les pecaniers de Jefferson planted one of its trees in the grounds of the embassy. American in Paris.

“Bordeaux is a special city”

The Gironde, loved by Thomas Jefferson who praised the sweetness of its wines in his travel diary, is also very popular with Denise Campbell Bauer. The ambassador, whohad the chance to visit all the French regions» with his parents, considers that «Bordeaux is a special city and visiting it as an ambassador is exciting». «Fallen under the spell of the pearl of Aquitaine», the diplomat underlines above all the importance of it in the history of her country. In March 1778, the Girondin capital became the first city in France where a “US representative was installedafter France recognized the independence of the United States. A perennial presence almost without interruption since the 18th century.

Between two meetings of notables, such as the prefect of the Gironde, Etienne Guyotand the Mayor of Bordeaux, Pierre Hurmicthe diplomat went to the dune of Pilat to “discover the work that makes it possible to “preserve this geological feature from coastal erosiona challenge that Americans also face. As King Charles III wanted to do so for her state visit (cancelled at the request of Emmanuel Macron due to the climate of tension and demonstrations), Denise Campbell Bauer wanted to go to Hostens, bereaved by the fires that ravaged the Gironde l ‘last summer. Stating that President Joe Biden “has made environmental protection a priority of its administration», the ambassador expressed her desire to «understand what is being done to promote forest resilience and healing».

But before going to plant a tree, the American is also invited to experience the time of flowers. Crowning primers week which presents the vintage of the year in the Bordeaux region, the ambassador must indeed attend the Fête du Bontemps given at the Château Smith Haut Lafitte. High place in the Cru Classé des Graves, the vineyard of Daniel and Florence Cathiard is appreciated by crowned heads. While it had been chosen for a tasting by the British sovereigns, this Thursday evening, it was Prince Albert of Monaco who was announced there.