Eleanor Beardsley

France Sells Presidential Wines To Update Palace Wine Cellar

Eleanor Beardsley — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 09:21:00 +0000

Prized Burgundies and Bordeaux once served at the presidential palace in France were sold for the first time ever as the wine cellar at Elysee Palace gets an overhaul.

Some 1,200 bottles, or 10 percent of the palace wines, went on sale this week at the famous Drouot auction house in downtown Paris.

Let Them Eat Grass: Paris Employs Sheep As Eco-Mowers

Eleanor Beardsley — Mon, 27 May 2013 18:10:00 +0000

City officials in Paris are experimenting with an unconventional way to keep urban lawns trimmed.

Agnes Masson used to be simply the director of the Paris city archives. Now, she's also a shepherdess of sorts, responsible for four black sheep munching the lush grass surrounding the gray archives building at the eastern edge of the city.

Masson says the ewes are efficient and easy to care for.

"We don't have to do anything — just look after them to see if the four of them are always together," Masson says.

France Pays Tribute To First U.S. Fighter Pilots

Eleanor Beardsley — Mon, 27 May 2013 08:47:00 +0000

Every Memorial Day weekend, a ceremony takes place just outside Paris to honor a group of Americans who fought in France. They're not D-Day veterans, but a little known group of pilots who fought for France in World War I, before the U.S.

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 reacting 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.

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?

French Twitter Lawsuit Pits Free Speech Against Hate Speech

Eleanor Beardsley — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 21:32:00 +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' ...

Algeria Hostage-Taking Could Be Retaliation For France's Actions In Mali

Eleanor Beardsley — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 21:57:00 +0000

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

And I'm Audie Cornish.

Algerian Islamists attacked an oil and gas field at dawn this morning in the desert on the border with Libya. They claim to have taken nearly 200 people hostage.

France To Send More Troops To Mali To Combat Islamist Militants

Eleanor Beardsley — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 22:47:00 +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: (French spoken)

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

Competitive Advantage Could Force French Labor Changes

Eleanor Beardsley — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 11:53:00 +0000

French President Francois Hollande has vowed to improve his country's competitiveness. But to better compete, France has to overhaul its labor market, and some hard-earned workers' rights and privileges could be lost.