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, to report on the war there, and to Athens, to follow the Greek debt crisis.
In 2011, Beardsley covered the first Arab Spring revolution in Tunisia, 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 especially enjoys historical topics and has covered several anniversaries of the Normandy D-day invasion 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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France has recalled its ambassadors to the U.S. and Australia as it registers its objection to a pact announced this week to build nuclear-powered submarines — a pact France wasn't included in.
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France enacted tough vaccine mandates in July, in anticipation of a fourth wave of COVID-19. Some people took to the streets in protest, but most complied.
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A submarine deal between the U.S., U.K. and Australia counters China but has infuriated France, which had its own deal to sell subs canceled and is wary of U.S. aims.
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While reluctant to criticise President Biden directly, many Europeans are critical of the way his administration has handled the U.S. evacuation from Afghanistan.
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Wildfires have turned deadly in southern France, killing at least three people, according to firefighters. Thousands of people have fled the fires near the tourist beaches of St. Tropez.
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The collapse of the Afghan government and the Taliban's return to power are getting different responses from around the world. We hear from reporters in Paris, Beijing and Moscow.
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As US NATO allies struggle to evacuate their citizens from Afghanistan, talk in Europe is focusing on how to prevent a wave of refugees fleeing Taliban control reaching the EU.
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Afghan women who had built new lives in Paris watch with horror as the Taliban retake the Afghan capital Kabul — where many of their family members remain.
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Director Leos Carax's new film, Annette, is a dark fairy tale starring Adam Driver. Nine years since Carax's last film, his movies often feature visions and ghosts.
