€135 over here. They were fairly lenient for the first day or two ("on ne verbalise que ceux qui nous prennent pour des cons") but they're ramping it up now.
Half the time, yes. I was supposed to be heading back to Blighty this weekend but I guess I'm staying put for the moment. Oh well.
Worse places to be holed up I'm guessing. Which town? My other half is from Montélimar, further down the road
We're out in the middle of nowhere (which is handy right now) about 20 miles east of Nevers. I love it here and there's plenty to do around the house and garden at this time of year so I'm not complaining about being here a bit longer. Or a lot longer, for that matter. As you say, there are worse places to be holed up.