Friday, in Betz, it’s couscous. The traders on the main street of this commune in the Oise receive their dishes at midday from a rather special resident. Since 1972, the village castle and its garden – listed in the national heritage inventory – have been occupied intermittently by the King of Morocco and his family. “Sometimes we see the princesses of the family, they come to shop with us,” comments Marie, a pharmacy technician – and regular recipient of royal couscous. Purchased by Hassan II, kept by his son Mohammed VI, the “castle of Betz”, as indicated by the golden plaque at the entrance, fuels the curiosity and fantasies of the 1,200 inhabitants of the village. “Every time the guards are there, I crane my neck to see the castle,” says Corinne, a dental assistant in Betz, laughing. “But nothing helps!”
Protected from prying eyes by high stone walls and a wooden gate, located just opposite the town hall, the place leaves, at first glance, nothing to guess about its illustrious owner. “But all it takes is for his family to be there for activity to return: we see guards in costume pass by, employees who work at the castle, lists Bénédicte, employee of the community social center. That’s extra activity for the village’s businesses: the guards do their shopping in the grocery store or have their cars serviced at the garage.” An appreciable peak in consumption, for a town whose food businesses have closed one after the other. On the main road, the CocciMarket supermarket benefits from regular visits from the castle’s occupants.
Protected from prying eyes by high stone walls, the place reveals, at first glance, nothing about its illustrious owner.
© / Alexandra Saviana / L’Express
Added to these new consumers is the largesse of the royal family for the village. Hassan II participated in the renovation of the multipurpose room – a plaque with his name is affixed there. Mohammed VI, to that of the church. Even today, Her Majesty regularly donates vegetables from her vegetable garden to the village solidarity grocery store. “Salads, tomatoes, squash, peppers, chili peppers… We have everything, in an ultra-short circuit!” enthuses Laura, also an employee of the Betz social center. These in-kind donations offset slight nuisances, such as in 2016, the impossibility of drinking tap water when the king was there: the village’s water consumption had exceeded the production capacity of the sanitation services.
For several years, between 10 and 15 children from the town were also invited to Morocco. “My daughter applied twice, without success,” regrets Corinne. Selected by drawing lots or based on their grades – everything depended on the choice of the mayor at the time – the teenagers, supervised by facilitators, spent three weeks, all expenses paid, in the country. In addition, the king even offered 400 euros of pocket money in cash to young travelers. Since the restrictions imposed by the Covid pandemic, however, these stays have been interrupted. No one knows if they will ever resume.
Flying flag
The inhabitants perhaps have reason to hope: if the castle is empty today, part of the royal entourage occupied it for several weeks, until the earthquake which shook Morocco on the night of Friday September 8 to Saturday September 9 does not interrupt their stay. The next day, cars, guards and princesses vanished. The king and his ghostly presence with – if he was really there. Because no one in Betz seems capable of dating the last visit of Mohammed VI to the village. The mayor, Maryline Dolléans, claims to have never been in contact with him since taking office in 2021. Since the Covid crisis, the sovereign’s visits have become less frequent, with the Moroccan flag flying more and more rarely at above the Betz castle.