Damara resident Bertin Andjipassera told Reuters news agency that people have been fleeing their homes.

BBC: Central African Republic rebels halt advance on Bangui

Parisian power over la mode dates back to Marie Antoinette and her extravagant collaborations with the dressmaker Rose Bertin.

WSJ: A Rustling Theater of the Self | Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity | Metropolitan Museum of Art | By Laura Jacobs