Eleanor Beardsley

An Ancient Religious Pilgrimage That Now Draws The Secular

Eleanor Beardsley — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:28:00 +0000

A 1,200-year old European pilgrimage route is experiencing a revival. Last year alone, some 200,000 followed in the footsteps of their medieval forebears on the Way of St. James, making their way some 750 miles from Paris across France to the Spanish coastal city of Santiago de Compostela, and the relics of the eponymous apostle.

But now, what was once a strictly religious affair has become a cultural and social phenomenon that attracts the nonreligious as well.

In France, A Renewed Push To Return Art Looted By Nazis

Eleanor Beardsley — Wed, 08 May 2013 15:37:00 +0000

During World War II, the Nazis plundered tens of thousands of works of art from the private collections of European Jews, many living in France. About 75 percent of the artwork that came back to France from Germany at the end of the war has been returned to their rightful owners.

But there are still approximately 2,000 art objects that remain unclaimed.

Bombing Suspects' Chechen Roots Weigh Heavy On Nation' Refugees

Eleanor Beardsley — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 19:57:00 +0000

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

The Tsarnaev brothers are among tens of thousands of Chechens whose families have sought asylum abroad after two brutal wars with Russia. About 10 percent of the entire Chechen population now lives in Europe. France has one of the largest communities. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley spoke with Chechens in Paris to see how they're reaction to the attack in Boston.

AICHAT: (Foreign language spoken)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Foreign language spoken)

ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE: I meet the two young Chechen refugees at a cafe near the Gare de Lyon.

Routine On U.S. Racetracks, Horse Doping Is Banned In Europe

Eleanor Beardsley — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 20:04:00 +0000

At the famous Hippodrome de Longchamp just outside of Paris this month, crowds came to cheer and bet on the sleek thoroughbreds that opened horse racing season by galloping down the verdant turf course.

Horse racing in Europe is different from the sport in the U.S., from the shape and surface of the track to race distances and the season itself. Another big difference is doping.

Drugs are not allowed in European horse races. But in America, they aren't just legal, they're widely used — particularly furosemide, better known as Lasix.

Versailles Gets Spiffed-Up On Its Day Off

Eleanor Beardsley — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 07:04:00 +0000

With nearly 7 million visitors a year, the Chateau of Versailles in France is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world. But one day a week, it's closed.

So what happens at Versailles on its day off? A spa day, of sorts — involving cleaning and conservation work.

Catherine Pegard, president of Versailles, says the palace is always caught between history and modernity.

"There's always an equilibrium to be struck between preserving the history of the palace and operating in the 21st century, a constant pull between conservation and creation," she says.

As Global Chains Move In, The Champs Elysees Gets A New Look

Eleanor Beardsley — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 20:40:00 +0000

Once known as the most beautiful avenue in the world, the Champs Elysees is changing. Some Parisians fear it's starting to look like any American shopping mall as high rents and global chains steadily alter its appearance.

"We just try to keep a sort of diversity on the Champs Elysees, with the cinemas, with restaurants, with cafes and shops," says Deputy Mayor Lynn Cohen-Solal. "We don't think the laws of the natural market, the free market, make for a good Champs Elysees."

Cohen-Solal says the Champs Elysees is being transformed by those skyrocketing rents.

U.S. Boss Offers Blunt Critique; French Workers Give Fiery Response

Eleanor Beardsley — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 17:19:00 +0000

The battle between an American capitalist and a French socialist official has prompted chuckles — and heated debate — on both sides of the Atlantic. The exchange highlights some humorous stereotypes and reveals real differences between the economic cultures of France and the United States.

A leaked letter from Maurice Taylor, CEO of the Illinois-based Titan tire company, ignited the controversy.

In Algeria, Sahara Attack Revives A Fear Of Renewed Terrorism

Eleanor Beardsley — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 22:47:00 +0000

When Muslim extremists overran an oil and gas facility in Algeria's Sahara desert last month, Algerians saw the drama through the lens of their own painful history.

The news that terrorists had seized the In Amenas oil and gas plant stunned people in Algiers, the Algerian capital, who thought they'd seen the last of such attacks.

For most of the 1990s, a brutal civil war between Islamists and the military engulfed the country. More than 150,000 Algerians — mostly civilians — lost their lives in the violence.

A Murder Deepens Tunisia's Political Crisis

Eleanor Beardsley — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 08:40:00 +0000

The political crisis in Tunisia is deepening after last week's murder of a prominent secular politician. Tunisians are increasingly divided over their country's government and future, just two years after collectively overthrowing the dictator in a popular revolution.

The murder of outspoken politician Chokri Belaid shocked Tunisians to their core. Tens of thousands of people turned out to bury him Friday in the main cemetery in Tunis, the capital.

Chaos Follows Funeral For Slain Leader In Tunisia

Eleanor Beardsley — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 17:28:00 +0000

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

We want to go live now to the nation of Tunisia, where tens of thousands of people turned out today for the funeral of an assassinated opposition leader. Political tensions turned violent as young men clashed with police. The scene was a reminder of the precariousness of the situation in Tunisia - two years after the Arab Spring revolution began there. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley was at the funeral and joins me on the line. And Eleanor, what was the scene at this funeral?

Not Just A Fashion Hot Spot: Paris Is Also The Capital Of Dog Mess

Eleanor Beardsley — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 12:43:00 +0000

This essay by NPR correspondent Eleanor Beardsley was borne out of the personal exasperation of living in a beautiful city with one thing she found very, very wrong.

When you walk down the grand boulevards of the City of Light, you have to be careful where you step.

Every day, my senses are assaulted by the piles I have to dodge in the Parisian streets. There are the fresh ones that leave me feeling angry, and the ones from the previous days that have begun to smear down the street on the bottoms of people's shoes.

About a year ago, I began to get really worked up about it.

French Twitter Lawsuit Pits Free Speech Against Hate Speech

Eleanor Beardsley — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 21:57:00 +0000

A French judge will decide this week if Twitter must hand over the identities of users sending anti-Semitic tweets. The case, brought against Twitter by a Jewish student organization, pits America's free speech guarantees against Europe's laws banning hate speech.

The controversy began in October, when the French Union of Jewish Students threatened to sue Twitter to get the names of people posting anti-Semitic tweets with the hashtag #unbonjuif, or "a good Jew."

"If I type 'un bon Juif' ...

France To Send More Troops To Mali To Combat Islamist Militants

Eleanor Beardsley — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 22:34:00 +0000

Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

The French defense minister says France is preparing for a possible land assault in Mali, so it plans to increase its troop levels to 2,500. Back home in France, authorities are girding for possible terrorist attacks in response to their intervention. Eleanor Beardsley has that story from Paris.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (Foreign language spoken)

ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE: For the fifth day, France awoke to news about French bombing raids against Islamist radicals overnight in Mali.

Same-Sex Marriage And Adoption: Unresolved Issues In France

Eleanor Beardsley — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 10:22:00 +0000

France is known as a tolerant country on many social issues, yet the country is embroiled in a debate about same-sex marriage and adoption.

President Francois Hollande is following through on a campaign promise to bring full rights to gay couples.

Gerard Depardieu's Tax Flight Stirs Fierce Debate In France

Eleanor Beardsley — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 19:59:00 +0000

Gerard Depardieu, one of France's most iconic and beloved film stars, is now at the center of a national uproar over French taxes and patriotism.

Depardieu, who has been in around 200 films, says he's moving to Belgium to avoid paying a new 75 percent tax on the superwealthy. The move has divided the country and has focused attention on the Socialist government's controversial new tax policy.

The uproar began just before Christmas, when it came to light that Depardieu bought a home in Nechin, a drab Belgian village less than a mile over the French border.