To address your points:
The beautiful young student Laetitia has a fling with the older professor who BTW is only old enough to be her father, not grandfather lol. What's the appeal? He's on TV buddy!!! [Ever seen Network? Explains this phenomenon masterfully]. The student is a bit of a groupie. The concept of "mid-life crisis" that most men suffer is fully explored. What makes this a truthful part of the movie is that the man foolishly hopes the beautiful young woman falls for him...even a little. When he sends the corny romantic texts anonymously, then follows her to the cafe', he sees her with people her own age and her gorgeous young boyfriend and realizes what he truly is...a normal man w/impossible hopes that he will never get old and never have to die. Very human.
Same topic covered very well in a movie called "Moonstruck" in which Olympia Dukakis won an Oscar portraying the grandmother-aged wife whose husband cheats on her w/a younger women wherein she constantly asks, "Why do men chase women?" She comes to the same conclusion - that men are afraid to die and cheating makes them feel young and calms that fear that builds in the golden years. In "Moonstruck", the younger woman cheats with the older man because --- get this --- he owns a well-established plumbing business in Manhattan and can gift her with necklaces of cubic zirconia, good seats at the opera and fancy dinners w/Campari cocktails, prosciutto [fancy Parma ham slices], any kind of shellfish her heart desires & even tiramisu' @every dining establishment in Little Italy. Burp. Plumbing is the ultimate turn on to young women.
As for the woman abused in the bar, that is a bit more complex than anybody has time for in imdB. She'd known all those men for years. Probably grew up with them. Must be a complicated back story there not fully explained in the movie. Not uncommon in any country, but certainly not specific to France when some women forgive guys who are cruel to them. too many movies too numerous to name where this subject is explored.
Peace.
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