In normal times the Hotel Avenir Montmartre is a tourist magnet with its views of the Eiffel Tower and the Sacre Coeur church, 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 I didn’t know anyone. I was moving around temporary housing, sometimes I slept in the kitchen, or beside the garbage can,” he said. “Some days I find a small job, and I earn about 40 euros, 30 euros, 50 euros and I go out. When I find these jobs, I pay for a hotel, which costs 30 euros, to spend the night. But I can’t do this all my life.” At the Hotel Avenir Montmartre, the cost of his room is covered by the charity.