Eleanor Beardsley

The choir, clergy and guests stand as they sing during a ceremony to mark the reopening of the landmark Notre-Dame Cathedral, in central Paris, on Saturday.

The Notre Dame Cathedral To Re-Open After Devastating Fire

On Saturday, December 7, 2024, Notre Dame de Paris reopened in Paris, France after five years of closure following a fire in April 2019 that severely damaged the building's structure.

The verdict in a mass rape trial taking place in southern France is expected by the end of the week. Fifty men are charged with the rape and sexual abuse of a woman who was drugged by her husband.

A court in France hands down verdicts to 51 men accused of raping a woman who has become a victim's rights hero.

Gisèle Pelicot arrives at the courthouse in Avignon, France, on Dec. 19, 2024, in advance of the verdict being read out from the trial of her ex-husband and more than four dozen other men 50 who were found guilty of aggravated rape against Gisèle Pelicot.

Gisèle Pelicot arrives at the courthouse in Avignon, France, on Dec. 19, 2024, in advance of the verdict being read out from the trial of her ex-husband and more than four dozen other men 50 who were found guilty of aggravated rape against Gisèle Pelicot.

The lead accused, a man who drugged his wife and invited other men to their home to rape her, was given 20 years in prison. But the 50 other participants were given more lenient sentences.

Notre Dame's longest serving organist Olivier Latry tells of the cathedral's transformed acoustics. After a horrific fire in 2019, craftspeople resurrected the cathedral in just five years. The organist says the thorough cleaning of the instrument and the structure's stone makes the cathedral even more reverberant. Sign up for State of the World+ to listen sponsor-free and support the work of NPR journalists. Visit plus.npr.org.

A lesser-known amphibious landing along France's Mediterranean played a big role in liberating the country from the Nazis. Those troops were under French command, but hailed mostly from Africa.