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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With at least three people killed by suspected Islamists, France and Belgium are on high alert as fears grow that tensions over the Israel-Hamas war could spill into Europe.
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Deep in a forest in the Burgundy region, a group of enthusiasts is building a castle the medieval way — no motorized machines included.
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A series of coups in Francophone Africa has led to French troops and diplomats being expelled from their former colonies.
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Survivors of the Morocco earthquake grapple with the prospect of long stays in tent cities.
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Morocco's earthquake last week hit thousands of people who live in traditional villages in the Atlas Mountains. NPR followed rescuers and saw just how hard it was getting to people in need.
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After five years of chaos in the streets, Paris is now saying goodbye to electric scooters. It was one of the first major cities to embrace them in 2018.
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Lithuania is hosting the meeting, and some in the former Soviet republic feel pride for getting that chance.
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Authorities in France say security measures are starting to calm the violent protests that began after the police killing of a 17-year-old last Tuesday.
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Peace in the Balkan nation is under attack by interethnic tensions. The U.S. has invested heavily in the democratic country that declared its independence from Serbia in 2008.
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Workers across France are rushing to restore various parts of Notre Dame Cathedral, with a goal to reopen the site in Paris in December 2024 — five years after a destructive fire.