Eleanor Beardsley
Eleanor Beardsley began reporting from France for NPR in 2004 as a freelance journalist, following all aspects of French society, politics, economics, culture and gastronomy. Since then, she has steadily worked her way to becoming an integral part of the NPR Europe reporting team.
Beardsley has been an active part of NPR's coverage of terrorist attacks in Paris and in Brussels. She has also followed the migrant crisis, traveling to meet and report on arriving refugees in Hungary, Austria, Germany, Sweden and France. She has also traveled to Ukraine, including the flashpoint eastern city of Donetsk, , and to Athens, to follow the Greek debt crisis.
In 2011, Beardsley , where she witnessed the overthrow of the autocratic President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. Since then she has returned to the North African country many times.
In France, Beardsley has covered three presidential elections, including the surprising win by outsider Emmanuel Macron in 2017. Less than two years later, Macron's presidency was severely tested by France's Yellow vest movement, which Beardsley followed closely.
Beardsley and has as well as the centennial of World War I.
In sports, Beardsley closely covered the Women's World Soccer Cup held in France in June 2019 (and won by Team USA!) and regularly follows the Tour de France cycling race.
Prior to moving to Paris, Beardsley worked for three years with the United Nations Mission in Kosovo. She also worked as a television news producer for French broadcaster TF1 in Washington, D.C., and as a staff assistant to South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond.
Reporting from France for Beardsley is the fulfillment of a lifelong passion for the French language and culture. At the age of 10 she began learning French by reading the Asterix the Gaul comic book series with her father.
While she came to the field of radio journalism relatively late in her career, Beardsley says her varied background, studies and travels prepared her for the job. "I love reporting on the French because there are so many stereotypes about them in America," she says. "Sometimes it's fun to dispel the false notions and show a different side of the Gallic character. And sometimes the old stereotypes do hold up. But whether Americans love or hate France and the French, they're always interested!"
A native of South Carolina, Beardsley has a Bachelor of Arts in European history and French from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, and a master's degree in International Business from the University of South Carolina.
Beardsley is interested in politics, travel and observing foreign cultures. Her favorite cities are Paris and Istanbul.
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Nearly 7 million people visit the Chateau at Versailles a year. But one day a week, it's closed. That's a spa day of sorts, when conservation work and cleaning takes place at the Grande Dame of France royal residences. The hardwood floors alone require nearly 1,000 gallons of wax a year.
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Some Parisians worry that an avenue once considered the most beautiful in the world is starting to take on the character of an American shopping strip. -
The Illinois-based Titan tire company was weighing the purchase of an ailing factory in France. But in a leaked letter, Titan's CEO said the deal was off because the workers were unproductive and the unions "crazy." A war of words has ensued. -
Algerians received a double blow when an oil and gas plant was taken over in the desert last month. Algerians thought those kinds of attacks were a thing of the past, and many were angry when Western countries criticized the way Algeria's security forces responded. -
The killing of Chokri Belaid, a prominent politician and human rights activist, is pitting Tunisians against each other. Just two years after overthrowing a dictator, Tunisians are increasingly divided over their government and the country's future. -
The streets of Paris are marred by messes from dogs whose owners haven't cleaned up after them. There's a fine, but the culprits have to be caught in the act (or lack thereof). In this personal essay, NPR's Eleanor Beardsley goes after one thing about the city that she finds very, very wrong. -
Opposition to a bill allowing gay couples to adopt has been unexpectedly fierce in the country, which legalized civil unions more than a decade ago. In a rare move, and to the surprise of many, even the French Catholic Church has become involved in the debate.
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The film actor is moving to neighboring Belgium to avoid a new 75 percent tax on the superwealthy. This has touched off a war of words with the prime minister, and the public seems deeply divided. -
Friday marks the end of the Mayan calendar 鈥� and the end of the world if you believe doomsayers. But a rumor circulating online says the village of Bugarach, population 200, will be spared. That has the village bracing for an influx of believers. -
Starting in January, the French government will provide contraceptives for girls ages 15 to 18 鈥� without charge and without parental notification. The measure, which passed parliament without debate, aims to reduce teen pregnancies by increasing access to birth control and education.
