With no tourists, Paris hotel opens its doors to homeless

PARIS: In normal times the Hotel Avenir Montmartre is a tourist magnet with its views of the Eiffel Tower and the Sacre Coeur Basilica, but Covid-19 has scared off the usual guests. Instead, the hotel has opened its doors to the homeless.

The hotel’s management have, for a year, handed over their rooms to homeless charity Emmaus Solidarite, which is now using them to accommodate people who would otherwise be on the streets.

If it were not for his room at the hotel, Ibrahim, an asylum seeker from the West African country of Mali, would be bedding down in the restaurant kitchens where he picks up occasional work, or failing that, outdoors.

“When I had just arrived (in Paris), I…