U.S., March 20 -- With no tourists left in Paris, hotel rooms are sitting empty. In an interview with Le Parisien on Wednesday, France's minister of housing Julien Denormandie announced that the city will be renting out rooms to bring the homeless off the streets and into a safe space.

It's estimated that between 140,000 to 250,000 people live on the streets in Paris. Orders to self-quarantine and stay at home are meaningless for those with no home of their own.

So far, the city has rented out 50 rooms at the CIS Paris Kellerman hotel in the 13th arrondissement and plans to expand that number to 170 by the end of the week. Talks are also underway with hotel group Accor to open up 500 rooms for the homeless in Paris and elsewhere.

Locat...