
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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Heavy fighting continues in Gaza, with Israel's warplanes attacking from the air, and troops battling on the ground. U.N. officials warn of a humanitarian catastrophe.
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Israel's intensified combat operations throughout Gaza come as Palestinian civilians are being pushed farther south to escape the fighting.
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Israel was already known for having lots of firearms. But since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, the Israeli government has moved to loosen gun restrictions and fast-track permits for civilians.
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Israel's military says it's expanded its Gaza ground offensive and is now targeting Hamas strongholds across the Gaza strip. It's also telling more Gazans to flee some areas in order to avoid strikes.
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We look at the latest in the war between Hamas and Israel. The temporary ceasefire now over, deadly strikes in Gaza have resumed, and there are reports of more violence in the West Bank.
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In her most extensive comments yet on the conflict between Israel and Hamas, Vice President Kamala Harris says Israel must do more to protect civilians in Gaza.
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After a pause in fighting, Israel is again carrying out airstrikes in southern Gaza and Hamas is firing rockets into Israel. There are some 100 hostages still.
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The memorial event, at which five DJs played, took place at the site where Hamas killed hundreds attending a rave on Oct. 7. "This is the first time I've been able to cry," says one attendee.
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Through song and pictures, Israel commemorated the 364 killed and around 40 taken hostage Oct. 27 while at a music festival in the Negev Desert. The event was put on at the site of the deadly attack.
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Paris, the most densely populated European city, faces catastrophic heat because of global warming. Cool places such as underground parking lots could be where vulnerable populations could cool off.